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THE  UNIVERSITY 
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THE 


UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 
1765—1865 


EDWARD  CHANNING,  Ph.D. 

ASSISTANT  PROFESSOR  OF  HISTORY  IN  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

LONDON  :  MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  Ltd. 
1900 
AH  rights  reserved 


Copyright,  1896, 
By  MACiMILLAN  AND  CO. 


Set  up  and  electrotyped  April,  1896  Reprinted  August, 
897;  November,  igoo. 


S  2 

St  ^ 

O 

C  O 

A.  2 


J.  S.  Cusliing  &  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith 
Norwood  Mass.  U.S.A. 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE. 


The  aim  of  this  series  is  to  sketch  the  history  of  Modern 
Europe  ^with  that  of  its  chief  colonies  and  conquests^  from  about 
the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century  down  to  the  present  time.  In 
one  or  two  cases  the  story  will  com7nence  at  an  earlier  date,  but 
this  will  only  be  by  way  of  introduction.  In  the  case  of  the 
colonies  it  will  naturally  begirt  later.  The  histories  of  the  differ- 
ent countries  will  be  described,  as  a  general  rule,  in  separate 
volumes,  for  it  is  believed  that,  except  in  epochs  like  that  of  the 
French  Revolution  and  Napoleon,  the  connection  of  events  will 
be  better  understood  and  the  continuity  of  historical  development 
more  clearly  displayed  by  this  method,  than  by  any  other. 

The  series  is  intended  for  the  use  of  all  persons  anxious  to 
understand  the  nature  of  existing  political  conditions.  ''The 
roots  of  the  present  lie  deep  in  the  past,^^  and  the  real  significance 
of  contemporary  events  cannot  be  grasped  unless  the  historical 
causes  which  have  led  to  them  are  known.  The  plan  of  the 
series  will  make  it  possible  to  treat  the  history  of  the  last  four 
centuries  in  considerable  detail,  and  to  embody  the  most  impor- 
tant results  of  modern  research.  It  is  hoped  therefore  that  the 
forthcoming  volumes  will  be  useful  not  only  to  beginners  but  to 
students  who  have  already  acquired  some  general  knowledge  of 

V 

657537 


vi 


Editor  s  Preface. 


^European  History.  For  those  who  wish  to  carry  their  studies 
further^  the  bibliography  appended  to  each  volume  will  act  as  a 
guide  to  original  sources  of  information  and  works  more  detailed 
and  authoritative. 

Considerable  attention  will  be  paid  to  geography^  and  each 
volmne  will  be  furnished  with  such  maps  and  plans  as  may  be 
requisite  for  the  illustration  of  the  text. 


PREFATORY  NOTE. 


The  aim  of  this  little  book  is  to  trace  the  steps  by  which 
the  American  people  and  its  pecuHar  type  of  federal  state 
have  developed  out  of  such  heterogeneous  and  unpromising 
materials  for  nation-building  as  were  to  be  found  in  the 
English- American  Colonies  in  1760.  Less  attention  has  been 
given  to  campaigns  and  battles  than  is  usual  in  works  of  this 
class,  and  the  space  thus  gained  has  been  devoted  to  the 
elucidation  of  the  deeper  causes  underlying  the  American 
Revolution,  and  to  a  detailed  account  of  the  period  between 
the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War  and  the  inauguration  of 
President  Madison. 

The  Bibliographical  Note  at  the  end  of  the  volume  is 
intended  to  be  of  service  to  those  who  desire  to  make  a  further 
study  of  American  History,  and  not  necessarily  to  indicate  the 
sources  of  information  on  which  the  text  is  founded.  The  first 
six  chapters  are  in  fact  based  on  the  author's  own  reading  of 
the  original  sources.  For  Chapter  VI,  however,  considerable 
assistance  was  derived  from  Henry  Adams's  History  of  the 
United  States  (1800 — 181 7),  and  the  first  part  of  Chapter  VH 
was  drawn  mainly  from  that  masterly  work.  For  the  remaining 
portion  of  Chapter  VH,  and  for  Chapter  VIH,  the  biographies 
and  collected  writings  and  speeches  of  the  leading  men  of  that 
time  were  perused.  Chapter  IX  is  founded  mainly  on  James 
Ford  Rhodes's  two  volumes  on  the  period  from  1850 — 1860. 
The  author  has  also  read  the  more  important  biographies  and 
collections  of  speeches  dealing  with  that  epoch ;  but  his  prin- 

vii 


viii 


Prefatory  Note. 


cipal  reliance  was  on  Mr.  Rhodes's  excellent  work.  It  is  to  be 
regretted  that  the  present  book  was  in  type  before  the  publica- 
tion of  Mr.  Rhodes's  third  volume,  covering  the  critical  years 
i860 — 1862.  For  Chapter  X  the  official  records  and  the  com- 
prehensive works  have  been  used  —  especially  Colonel  Dodge's 
stimulating  Bird's- Eye  View  of  the  Civil  War.  John  C. 
Ropes's  careful  study  of  the  early  campaigns  (^The  Story  of  the 
Civil  War,  Vol.  I)  was  published  too  late  to  be  of  assistance 
in  the  preparation  of  this  account.  Mr.  Ropes,  however,  has 
kindly  read  the  proofs  of  this  chapter  —  a  service  Dr.  Justin 
Winsor  graciously  performed  for  the  earlier  chapters.  For 
their  many  valuable  suggestions  the  author's  thanks  are  due,  as 
they  are  also  to  Professor  Prothero,  who  has  laid  him  under 
deep  obligation.  Above  all  he  desires  to  express  his  sense  of 
the  kindness  of  his  friend  and  colleague  Professor  Albert  Bush- 
nell  Hart,  who  has  read  the  proofs  of  the  entire  work.  Perhaps 
it  is  needless  to  add  that  none  of  these  authors  and  kind  friends 
is  to  be  held  in  any  way  responsible  for  any  errors,  whether  of 
fact  or  of  opinion,  which  may  be  found  within  these  covers. 

The  maps  were  compiled  by  the  author  to  illustrate  this 
volume,  and  it  is  hoped  that  they  will  be  found  useful.  It  is 
practically  impossible  to  be  absolutely  accurate  in  a  work  of 
this  size,  covering  such  an  extended  period  and  dealing  with  so 
many  disputed  events.  It  is  sometimes  impossible  for  an 
American  to  appreciate  the  motives  of  his  "  kin  beyond  sea  "  ; 
and  it  is  not  always  easy  for  him  to  do  justice  to  his  own 
countrymen.  The  utmost  that  an  historical  student  can  do  is 
to  study  and  write  without  malice  in  his  heart  —  and  this  the 
present  writer  can  fairly  claim  to  have  done.  He  will  cordially 
welcome  the  discovery  and  communication  of  any  error. 

EDWARD  CHANNING. 

Cambridge,  Massachusetts, 
October,  1895. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.    The  Colonists,  1 760-1 765  i 

II.    Constitutional  Opposition,  1 760-1 774  41 

III.  Revolution    ..........  72 

IV^  The  Constitution   .       .       .       .       .       .       .       .  .107 

V.    The  New  Nation  135 

VI.  Supremacy  of  the  Jeffersonian  Republicans,  1 801 -1809        .  160 

VII.  The  Second  War  of  Independence  and  the  Era  of  Good 

Feeling     .       .       .       .       .       .       .       .       .  .184 

VIII.  Democracy    .....       ....       .  208 

IX.    The  Extension  of  Slavery,  1 849-1 861  235 

X.    The  War  for  the  Union,  1861-1865  258 

APPENDICES. 

I.    The  Virginia  Resolves,  1769  .       .       .       .       .       .       .  301 

II.    The  Declaration  of  Independence         .....  302 

III.  The  Articles  of  Confederation       ......  307 

IV.  The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  .  .  .  .  .318 
V.    Bibliographical  Note  336 

MAPS. 

I.    To  illustrate  Chapters  I — IV         ...         at  the  beginning 
II.    To  illustrate  Chapters  V — IX        .       .       .        page  135 
III.    To  illustrate  Chapter  X        ....        at  the  end 

ix 


NOTES  TO  MAP  I. 


The  Proclamation  of  1763  (see  pp.  27,  103,  108,  109,  117). 
h' m'  n'.    Northern  limit  of  East  Florida. 

o'  f '  g'  h'  p'.  Boundaries  of  West  Florida.  The  territory  included  within 
the  lines  f  b'  c'  g'  was  added  to  West  Florida  in  1764. 

e' n'.  "Lands  lying  between  the  rivers  Altamaha  and  St  Mary's"  were 
annexed  to  Georgia. 

M'  a' m.  Lands  west  of  this  line  reserved  for  the  use  of  the  Indians ;  the 
words  of  the  Proclamation  are :  "  Lands  beyond  the  heads  or  sources 
of  any  of  the  rivers  which  fall  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean  from  the  west  or 
north-west." 

f  h  g  b  c.    Southern  boundary  of  the  Province  of  Quebec. 

The  Quebec  Act,  1774  (pp.  66—67). 

1 1.  Southern  limit  of  territory  added  to  the  Province  of  Quebec  "  pro- 
vided always,  That  nothing  herein  contained  relating  to  the  boundary 
of  the  Province  of  Quebec,  shall  in  any  wise  affect  the  boundaries  of 
any  other  colony." 

Treaty  of  1783  (p.  102). 
a  f  h  g  b.    Northern  limit  of  United  States, 
b  e  i.    Eastern  limit  of  United  States. 

The  line  from  li  to  i  was  in  dispute  from  1783 — 1842,  g  e  is  the  line  as 

finally  determined  In  1842  (p.  224). 
a  d  k  h  p  t  u  w  X  b'  f Western  limit  of  United  States, 
f '  g'  h' m'  n'.    Southern  limit  of  United  States.    Disputed  by  Spain  (see 

p.  117). 

Claims  and  Cessions,  1776 — 1801  (pp.  108 — 110,  112). 
k  m.    Northern  boundary  of  Massachusetts  according  to  the  charters, 
h  0.    Boundary  between  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  under  their 
charters. 

p  q.    Southern  boundary  of  Connecticut  according  to  her  charter. 

u  V.  Virginia  claimed  all  the  land  north  of  this  line  and  west  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, including  parts  claimed  by  Massachusetts,  New  York,  and 
Connecticut. 

w  z.    Boundary  between  the  Carolinas. 

X  d'.    Southern  boundary  of  South  Carolina. 

Z'  a'  e'.  Southern  boundary  of  Georgia  according  to  her  charter.  New 
York  claimed  western  New  York  and  all  lands  west  of  Pennsylvania, 
as  far  south  as  the  Tennessee  River. 

Mason  and  Dixon  Line  (p.  4). 
r  s.    Shows  this  line  (only  a  portion  cf  it  was  surveyed  by  the  men  whose 
name  it  bears).    Sometimes  the  phrase  is  used  to  indicate  the  line 
separating  the  slave  and  free  states  in  i860  (see  Map  III). 

Vermont. 

The  territory  designated  as  Vermont  was  in  dispute  between  New  York 
and  New  Hampshire.  The  matter  was  finally  settled  by  the  admission 
of  Vermont  to  the  Union  in  1791  as  the  fourteenth  state. 


NOTES  TO  MAP  I. 


The  Proclamation  of  1763  (see  pp.  27,  103,  108,  109,  117). 
h' m'  n'.    Northern  limit  of  East  Florida. 

0'  f '  g'  h'  p'.    Boundaries  of  West  Florida.    The  territory  included  within 
the  lines  f     c'  g'  was  added  to  West  Florida  in  1764. 
n'.    "Lands  lying  between  the  rivers  Altamaha  and  St  Mary's"  were 
annexed  to  Georgia. 

M'  a' m.  Lands  west  of  this  line  reserved  for  the  use  of  the  Indians ;  the 
words  of  the  Proclamation  are :  "  Lands  beyond  the  heads  or  sources 
of  any  of  the  rivers  which  fall  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean  from  the  west  or 
north-west." 

f  h  g  b  c.    Southern  boundary  of  the  Province  of  Quebec. 

The  Quebec  Act,  1774  (pp.  66—67). 

1 1.  Southern  limit  of  territory  added  to  the  Province  of  Quebec  "  pro- 
vided always,  That  nothing  herein  contained  relating  to  the  boundary 
of  the  Province  of  Quebec,  shall  in  any  wise  affect  the  boundaries  of 
any  other  colony." 

Treaty  of  1783  (p.  102). 

a  f  h  g  b.    Northern  limit  of  United  States, 
b  e  i.    Eastern  limit  of  United  States. 

The  line  from  li  to  i  was  in  dispute  from  1783 — 1842,  g  e  is  the  line  as 

finally  determined  In  1842  (p.  224). 
a  d  k  b  p  t  u  w  X  b'  f Western  limit  of  United  States, 
f '  g'  h' m!  n'.    Southern  limit  of  United  States.    Disputed  by  Spain  (see 

p.  117). 

Claims  and  Cessions,  1776— 1801  (pp.  108 — no,  112). 

k  m.    Northern  boundary  of  Massachusetts  according  to  the  charters, 
h  0.    Boundary  between  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  under  their 
charters. 

p  q.    Southern  boundary  of  Connecticut  according  to  her  charter. 

u  V.  Virginia  claimed  all  the  land  north  of  this  line  and  west  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, including  parts  claimed  by  Massachusetts,  New  York,  and 
Connecticut. 

w  z.    Boundary  between  the  Carolinas. 

X  d'.    Southern  boundary  of  South  Carolina. 

Z  a'  e'.  Southern  boundary  of  Georgia  according  to  her  charter.  New 
York  claimed  western  New  York  and  all  lands  west  of  Pennsylvania, 
as  far  south  as  the  Tennessee  River. 

Mason  and  Dixon  Line  (p.  4). 

r  s.  Shows  this  line  (only  a  portion  of  it  was  surveyed  by  the  men  whose 
name  it  bears).  Sometimes  the  phrase  is  used  to  indicate  the  line 
separating  the  slave  and  free  states  in  i860  (see  Map  III). 

Vermont. 

The  territory  designated  as  Vermont  was  in  dispute  between  New  York 
and  New  Hampshire.  The  matter  was  finally  settled  by  the  admission 
of  Vermont  to  the  Union  in  1 791  as  the  fourteenth  state. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 

1765—1865. 


CHAPTER  1. 

THE  COLONISTS,  1760-65. 

The  colonists  numbered  in  1760  about  sixteen  hundred 
thousand  souls,  whites  and  negroes,  slaves  and  freemen, 
foreigners  and  native  born.  They  are  always  described  as 
English  Americans;  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  English 
race  was  the  predominant  element.  But  nearly  all  the  more 
important  branches  of  the  Germanic  and  Keltic  races  were 
represented  among  them.  There  were  no  Slavs,  however,  and 
thus,  as  Mr  Henry  Cabot  Lodge  has  pointed  out,  the  whites, 
although  representing  many  nationalities,  belonged  to  the  two 
branches  of  the  Aryan  stock  which  have  always  shown  great 
powers  of  amalgamation.  The  several  elements  which  made 
up  this  population  were  so  intermingled  that  some  care  is 
needed  to  separate  them. 

In  New  England  and  in  the  eastern  and  older  settled 
portion  of  Virginia  the  whites  were  of  pure  ^j^^ 
English  extraction — that  is  to  say,  their  ancestors  England 

,  ,  ,  .  r   ^      ^  Colonists. 

all  came  from  the  southern  portion  ot  ureat 

C.  A.  I 


2 


The  Colonists y  1760-65.  [Chap. 


Britain.  The  people  of  Connecticut  probably  held  in  their 
veins  the  purest  English  blood  of  any  single  group  of  colonists. 
In  Massachusetts  there  was  a  slight  mixture  of  Scottish  blood, 
introduced  by  the  prisoners  deported  by  Cromwell  after  the 
victories  of  Dunbar  and  Worcester.  There  was  also  a  small 
French  element  in  the  population  of  the  Bay  Colony.  This 
comprised  the  descendants  of  the  Huguenot  refugees,  who 
fled  from  France  after  the  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes. 
Few  in  point  of  numbers,  they  were  still  of  considerable  im- 
portance. Peter  Faneuil  and  James  Bowdoin,  of  this  stock, 
were  among  the  most  eminent  Massachusetts  men  of  their 
times.  In  Rhode  Island,  the  Huguenot  descendants  formed 
a  larger  proportion  of  the  population ;  but,  considered  numer- 
ically, they  were  insignificant.  There  were  also  a  few  Portu- 
guese Jews  living  at  Newport.  With  these  exceptions,  the 
New  Englanders  were  of  pure  EngHsh  blood  —  descended  for 
the  most  part  from  the  people  of  the  eastern  counties.  There- 
fore, they  in  all  strictness  may  be  termed  English. 

The  earlier  settlers  of  the  tide-water  portion  of  Virginia  — 
the  section  containing  the  large  tobacco  plan- 
c^onists!*^^^"  tations  —  were  likewise  of  pure  English  extrac- 
tion. The  later  comers  to  the  Shenandoah 
Valley  and  to  the  slopes  of  the  Blue  Ridge  were  English 
and  Scotch-Irish  Presbyterians.  Intermingled  with  them 
was  a  strong  body  of  German  Protestants  who  had  reached 
that  country  through  Pennsylvania.  This  combined  Scotch- 
Irish  and  German  folk  penetrated  farther  south  and  west 
along  the  foot-hills  of  the  Appalachian  Mountains.  They 
formed  the  bulk  of  the  settlers  in  the  "upper  regions"  of  the 
Carolinas.  This  racial  element  in  the  interior  of  the  Southern 
Colonies  —  entirely  unlike  the  older  settlers  on  the  seaboard  in 
blood,  religion,  and  institutions  —  was  a  factor  of  importance 
in  the  history  of  the  South.  A  strong,  God-fearing  race,  it 
produced  two  of  the  most  remarkable  figures  in  the  annals  of 


Southern  and  Middle  Colonies, 


America  —  Andrew  Jackson  and  John  C.  Calhoun.  Unlike 
the  inhabitants  of  tide-water  Virginia,  the  dwellers  in  the  low- 
lands of  the  Carolinas  and  Georgia  were  largely  of  non-English 
blood.  The  Huguenots  were  especially  strong  in  South  Caro- 
lina, and  among  them  were  some  of  the  most  prosperous  and 
public-spirited  families  of  the  colony.  The  South  German 
Protestants,  or  Salzburgers  as  they  were  termed,  formed  an 
important  portion  of  the  inhabitants  of  Georgia.  Scattered 
here  and  there  throughout  the  Carolinas  and  Georgia  were 
groups  of  Scots  who  had  migrated  thither  after  the  final  over- 
throw of  the  Stuart  cause  at  CuUoden  and  the  subsequent 
breaking  down  of  the  clan  system  by  the  English  government. 
Among  them  were  Flora  MacDonald,  the  saviour  of  Prince 
Charles,  and  her  husband,  who  was  a  man  of  some  influence 
among  his  neighbours.  The  recent  immigrants  from  Scotland, 
some  of  whom  had  done  their  best  to  overthrow  the  Hano- 
verian dynasty  in  1745,  remained  true  to  George  the  Third  in 
1776.  A  few  returned  to  Scotland  and  others  enlisted  in  the 
loyalist  regiments.  Many  of  them  however  remained  on  their 
farms  and  played  important  parts  in  the  terrible  internecine 
conflicts  which  devastated  the  frontier  settlements  of  the 
Carolinas. 

It  was  in  the  colonies  lying  between  the  Hudson  and  the 
Potomac  that  the  greatest  diversity  of  race  was      ^j^^  People 
to  be  found.    In  New  York  there  were  the    of  the  Middle 
Dutch,  descendants  of  the  first  settlers,  and  now 
well  reconciled  to  the  English  domination;  but  no  Irish 
Catholics  lived  there  before  the  Revolution,  owing  to  the  severe 
anti-Catholic  laws  till  then  in  force  in  that  colony.    In  the  in- 
terior, along  the  banks  of  the  lower  Mohawk,  dwelt  a  large  and 
prosperous  body  of  German  settlers.    This  element  at  one 
time  had  been  much  larger,  but  many  families  had  been  lured 
to  Pennsylvania  by  promises  of  lavish  grants  of  land.  In 
Pennsylvania,  indeed,  there  were  representatives  of  nearly 

I — 2 


4 


The  Colonists,  1760-65. 


[Chap. 


every  nation  of  Western  Europe.  Side  by  side  with  the  de- 
scendants of  the  early  Swedish,  Dutch,  and  English  colon- 
ists might  be  seen  Germans  of  all  shades  of  religious  belief, 
Lutherans  and  Calvinists,  Quakers  and  Mennonists,  and  other 
sects  almost  without  number.  There,  too,  were  Spanish  and 
Irish  Roman  Catholics  —  for  in  that  colony  the  adherents  of 
all  Christian  faiths  enjoyed  full  civil  rights.  In  New  York 
and  Pennsylvania,  as  well  as  in  Rhode  Island,  there  were 
Jewish  congregations.  In  Pennsylvania  only  Christians  could 
hold  office,  but  in  Rhode  Island  a  Jew  could  obtain  the  right 
to  vote  by  means  of  a  special  act  of  the  colonial  legislature. 
Nowhere  was  the  Jewish  element  of  much  importance  in  1760. 
It  is  clear  from  this  brief  statement  of  facts  that  there  was  no 
well-defined  race  which  could  be  called  American  then  living 
in  the  colonies.  This  will  be  made  more  evident,  perhaps, 
by  an  analysis  of  the  population  according  to  colour  and  place 
of  birth. 

About  one-half  of  the  colonists  lived  on  either  side  of  the 
Distribution  southem  boundary  of  Pennsylvania.  This  line  had 
of  the  popuia-  been  settled  by  an  agreement  between  the  heirs 
of  William  Penn,  founder  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
those  of  Cecil  Calvert,  Lord  Baltimore,  under  whose  direction 
Maryland  had  been  colonized.  It  was  defined  for  a  consid- 
erable distance  by  two  English  surveyors.  Mason  and  Dixon. 
Separating  Pennsylvania  from  Maryland  and  Virginia,  Mason 
and  Dixon's  line  at  first  divided  the  Northern  Colonies,  where 
agriculture  was  diversified,  from  the  Southern  Colonies,  where 
one  or  two  staple  products  were  the  rule.  Later  in  the  history 
of  the  country,  it  became  the  dividing  line  between  the  slave 
and  free  states  east  of  the  Appalachian  Mountains;  and,  in 
this  sense,  has  immortalized  the  names  of  its  early  surveyors. 
The  statement  that  this  line  divided  the  population  into  two 
nearly  equal  parts  requires  further  examination.  There  were 
in  the  colonies  in  1760  about  four  hundred  thousand  negro 


I.]  Distribution  and  Physical  Conditions.  5 

slaves.  Of  these  some  three  hundred  thousand  lived  in  the 
southern  colonies,  the  remainder  being  owned  and  employed 
in  the  North,  mainly  in  New  York  and  Rhode  Island.  Sub- 
tracting the  negro  population  from  the' total  population  of  the 
two  divisions,  it  is  found  that  there  were  about  seven  hundred 
thousand  whites  in  the  North  and  not  far  from  five  hundred 
thousand  whites  in  the  South.  Probably  between  four  and  five 
hundred  thousand  of  the  colonists  were  immigrants  —  including 
in  this  estimate  seventy-five  thousand  negro  slaves,  for  the 
slave-trade  was  then  in  active  operation.  The  population  of 
the  colonies,  therefore,  was  divided  by  race  distinctions,  by 
colour,  and  by  length  of  exposure  to  colonial  institutions.  It 
would  appear,  in  point  of  fact,  that  the  problem  of  assimilating 
the  ''foreign  element"  was  certainly  not  less  serious  in  1760 
than  it  has  been  at  any  other  time  in  the  history  of  the 
country.  This  was  especially  true  because  a  majority  of  these 
recent  immigrants  were  not  English  either  by  birth  or  by 
speech.  Among  them  were  some  of  the  most  prominent 
leaders  in  the  Revolution.  For  example  the  first  two  great 
financiers  of  the  United  States,  Robert  Morris  and  Alexander 
Hamilton,  were  born  outside  of  the  colonies  —  and  it  may  be 
added  that  Albert  Gallatin,  the  only  man  among  the  early 
financiers  who  can  claim  a  place  with  these  two  men,  was  like 
them  born  without  the  limits  of  the  United  States.  Notwith- 
standing the  great  diversity  of  the  population,  race  conflicts 
seem  to  have  been  very  rare,  and,  except  in  New  England,  the 
immigrant  was  everywhere  welcomed  as  an  addition  to  the 
wealth  of  the  country. 

The  colonists  then  inhabited  that  portion  of  North  America 
which  lies  between  the  thirty-first  and  the  forty- 
fifth  parallels  of  north  latitude  and  between  the  condfuJmi. 
Atlantic  Ocean  and  the  Appalachian  Mountains. 
To  understand  the  history  of  this  people,  it  is  necessary  to 
know  something  of  the  conditions  of  life  prevailing  in  this 


6 


The  Colonists,  1760-65. 


[Chap. 


region  of  their  activity.  One  of  the  first  things  which  im- 
presses the  student  is  its  general  suitableness  for  colonization. 
There  were  scarcely  any  swamps  to  require  expensive  and  long- 
continued  draining,  although,  on  the  other  hand,  the  land  was 
covered  with  forests  which  had  to  be  cleared  away  before  hus- 
bandry could  be  begun.  The  new  land  was  provided,  however, 
with  an  agricultural  product  —  the  well-known  Indian  corn  or 
maize  —  which  throve  on  an  irregular  cultivation  and  supplied 
the  colonists,  after  a  few  months,  with  the  means  of  existence. 
Furthermore,  this  region  was  accessible  from  the  sea  to  an  extent 
scarcely  equalled  by  any  other  country  on  the  earth's  surface. 
The  colonies,  therefore,  were  easily  reached  and  easily  made 
to  produce  enough  food  to  save  the  colonists  from  starvation. 
The  next  thing  to  be  noted  is  the  fact  that  the  climatic 

conditions  were  extraordinary.  The  following 
prod^its^         ^^t)le,  extracted  from  Professor  Whitney's  United 

States^  will  well  repay  a  cursory  examination. 


Mean  Temperature  of  the 


Place. 
Nain,  Labrador 
Aberdeen,  Scotland 

Latitude. 

57°  12; 

Year. 
250.16 
46^.76 

Coldest 
month. 

3O.82 
37O.22 

Warmest 
month. 

5 1 0.08 1 
57^.741 

St.  John's,  Newfoundland 
Brest,  France 

47^36' 
48^  24' 

40^.10 
53O.60 

22O.46 
42O.44. 

59^^-54  \ 
64^.76 ) 

Halifax,  Nova  Scotia 
Bordeaux 

440  42' 
44O48' 

43^.34 
55^.04 

22O.64 
42O.44 

640.40  \ 
690.08  ( 

New  York 
Naples 

40°  50' 
40°  48' 

510.08 
61O70 

28O.94 
48O.2O 

75^.56  j 

Norfolk,  Virginia 
San  Fernando,  Spain 

36°  30' 

590.18 
63^.50 

40O.28 
52O  70 

780.62  \ 
760.10  j 

Diff. 
Year. 

21O.6 

13^.5 
I1O.7 

I0O.6 

4^.3 


It  will  be  noted,  for  instance,  that  while  the  difference 
between  the  mean  yearly  temperatures  of  Aberdeen  (Scotland) 
and  San  Fernando  (Spain)  is  seventeen  degrees,  the  difference 


I-]  Climate^  Products^  and  Employments,  / 


between  the  mean  yearly  temperatures  of  Nain  (Labrador)  and 
Norfolk  (Virginia)  —  situated  in  nearly  the  same  latitudes  as 
Aberdeen  and  San  Fernando,  is  thirty-four  degrees,  or  exactly 
double.  Perhaps  the  dissimilarity  of  the  climates  of  Europe 
and  America  can  be  best  elucidated  by  comparing  the  climatic 
conditions  of  New  York  and  Norfolk  on  one  side  of  the  Atlantic 
with  those  of  Naples  and  San  Fernando  on  the  other  side. 
The  difference  in  latitude  is  about  four  degrees  in  each  case. 
The  difference  in  the  temperatures  of  the  coldest  months  in  the 
European  cities  is  four  and  one-half  degrees  against  a  difference 
of  twelve  degrees  on  the  western  side  of  the  Atlantic.  It  may 
be  added  that,  proceeding  southward  from  Norfolk,  a  region  is 
soon  reached  where  the  winters  are  comparatively  mild.  This 
sudden  change  in  the  isothermal  lines  indicates  a  great  variety 
of  climatic  environments  within  a  comparatively  small  area, 
with  a  corresponding  diversity  of  agricultural  produce,  and, 
indeed,  of  general  employments  as  well.  New  England,  for 
example,  produced  fair  crops  of  potatoes,  onions,  and  Indian 
corn,  provided  the  farmer  devoted  much  labour  and  care  to 
their  cultivation.  The  Middle  Colonies  yielded  large  crops 
of  Indian  corn  and  wheat,  at  the  cost  of  much  less  labour  and 
care.  Virginia  produced  tobacco  of  excellent  quality  and 
in  great  abundance;  and  the  extreme  southern  colonies  were 
remarkably  well  suited  for  the  cultivation  of  rice  and  cotton.  It 
can  be  seen,  therefore,  that  in  1760a  small  population,  scattered 
through  a  region  eleven  hundred  miles  long  and  three  hundred 
miles  wide,  produced  commodities  associated  in  other  lands 
with  the  northern,  temperate,  and  tropical  zones. 

This  great  diversity  in  employments  and  in  conditions  of 
life  reacted  on  the  habits  and  ideas  of  the  people 
of  the  several  sections  and  made  against  polit-      Variety  of 

®  ^  employments. 

ical  union  throughout  the  whole  history  of  the 

people  inhabiting  this  country.    Thus  the  New  Englanders, 

able  to  wring  a  bare  subsistence  only  from  the  soil,  became. 


8 


The  Colonists^  1760-65.  [Chap. 


almost  of  necessity,  manufacturers,  mechanics,  and  merchants. 
They  ventured  upon  the  ocean  and  carried  the  fame  of  Boston 
to  every  port  open  to  Englishmen.  They  also  became  fisher- 
men and  drew  wealth  from  the  shoals  of  fish  which  visited  their 
shores.  In  whatever  pursuit  they  entered,  the  New  Englanders 
were  almost  invariably  successful,  and  retired  in  old  age  with 
competences  —  earned,  however,  by  the  most  strenuous  exer- 
tions and  by  great  personal  sacrifices.  This  hard  struggle  with 
nature  and  with  man  bred  in  them  a  shrewdness,  unequalled 
perhaps,  but  not  always  admirable.  The  people  of  the  Middle 
Colonies  were  beginning  to  turn  their  attention  to  the  arts  and 
to  commerce.  New  York  and  Philadelphia  were  already  large 
and  prosperous  seaports.  But  the  most  important  interest  of 
the  Middle  Colonies  —  in  the  pre-revolationary  days  at  least — 
0  was  the  production  of  food- stuffs.  There  the  farms  were  large, 
and  labour,  to  an  extent  unknown  in  New  England,  was  supplied 
by  "indented"  white  servants  and  by  negro  slaves.  South  of 
Mason  and  Dixon's  line,  the  scene  rapidly  changed.  As  one 
proceeded  southward,  the  cultivation  of  food-stuffs,  except  for 
local  needs,  diminished,  and  that  of  tobacco  occupied  the 
energies  of  the  inhabitants.  Following  this  change  of  product, 
slave  labour  became  more  frequent,  until,  in  the  rice  and  indigo 
producing  colonies  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  a  white 
labourer  was  not  to  be  found  —  except  in  the  new  settlements 
on  the  mountain  slopes,  where  the  conditions  were  similar  to 
those  which  prevailed  in  the  Middle  Colonies. 

These  several  environments  produced  a  marked  effect  on 
the  social  structures  of  the  different  sections.  In 
difionf ^  New  England,  society  was,  so  to  speak,  homo- 

geneous in  its  very  variety.  It  is  difficult  to 
conceive  of  class  distinctions  in  a  country  where  one  man  per- 
formed many  functions  each  year,  and  was  perhaps,  at  one  and 
the  same  time,  interested  in  half  a  dozen  employments  —  by 
turns  a  farmer,  an  artisan,  a  fisherman,  or  a  trader,  as  the 


Social  Conditions. 


9 


seasons  or  the  work  demanded.  The  chief  inequality  was  in 
that  of  accumulated  wealth;  and  the  Calvinistic  dogmas  of 
the  Congregational  Church  did  much  toward  equalizing  the 
lots  of  the  rich  and  the  poor.  In  the  Middle  Colonies  the 
case  was  different.  There  the  merchants  of  the  great  cities  and 
the  tillers  of  the  river  valleys  were  far  apart  in  their  ideas  of 
life.  The  farmers  of  Central  and  Western  Pennsylvania  were 
the  earliest  and  most  earnest  of  democrats,  holding  ideas 
abhorrent  to  the  feelings  of  their  fellow  colonists  in  Phila- 
delphia. 

In  the  South,  society  was  based  on  an  aristocratic  model. 
There,  land  was  held  in  large  estates  by  a  com- 
paratively small  number  of  land  and  slave  ^^^emia. 
owners.  In  Virginia,  these  landowners  possessed  entire  power 
in  State  and  Church,  tempered  to  a  very  slight  extent  by  the 
presence  of  a  royal  governor.  At  the  first  glance,  few  positions 
in  life  seemed  more  desirable  than  that  of  the  successful 
Virginia  planter.  In  company  with  the  Maryland  planters,  he 
possessed  a  monopoly  of  the  British  tobacco  markets.  Ex- 
cellent tobacco  was  produced  in  North  Carolina;  but,  at  that 
time,  it  was  scarcely  known  outside  the  tobacco  colonies.  This 
was  due  to  the  fact  that  the  most  practicable  route  from  the 
North  Carolina  tobacco  fields  to  the  seaboard  was  through 
Virginia.  The  tobacco  growers  of  the  latter  colony  imposed  a 
small  duty  on  all  tobacco  imported  into  Virginia  and  thus  ex- 
cluded North  Carolina  tobacco  from  the  markets  of  the  world. 
The  whole  life  of  Virginia  was  dominated  by  the  exigencies  of 
tobacco  culture.  Large  plantations,  slave  labour,  poor  and 
wasteful  cultivation,  a  single  crop  with  its  attendant  fluctua- 
tions, all  appear  to  have  been  the  direct  result  of  tobacco 
growing.  There  was  one  commercial  town  in  the  tobacco 
colonies — Baltimore  in  Maryland.  But  Baltimore  belonged  to 
the  valley  of  the  Susquehanna  and  not  to  that  of  the  Potomac 
—  it  was  to  most  intents  and  purposes  a  Pennsylvania  seaport. 


10 


The  Colonists y  1760-65. 


[Chap. 


The  great  arms  of  Chesapeake  Bay  —  known  as  rivers  —  the 
James,  the  York,  the  Potomac  and  the  rest,  were  navigable  for 
long  distances  from  the  bay.  The  sea-going  vessels  loaded 
within  a  short  distance  of  the  tobacco  fields  —  oftentimes  within 
sight  of  the  planter's  verandah.  Thus  it  came  about  that  there 
was  no  business  transacted  in  Virginia.  The  planter  consigned 
his  year's  crop  to  his  correspondent  in  London,  sending  also 
a  long  list  of  goods  to  be  purchased  there  and  sent  out  in  the 
tobacco  ships  a  year  later.  The  temptation  to  order  more 
goods  than  the  proceeds  of  the  tobacco  would  pay  for  was  very 
great,  and  it  was  difficult,  too,  to  calculate  closely  the  precise 
amount  that  the  tobacco  would  realize.  At  all  events,  the 
planter  soon  found  himself  in  debt  to  the  factor,  and  before 
long  the  proceeds  of  one  year's  crop  would  be  used  to  pay  the 
^ebts  already  contracted.  So  the  process  went  on,  the  planter 
living  in  apparent  comfort,  yet  always  on  the  edge  of  bank- 
ruptcy. Of  course,  here  and  there,  good  managers  could  be 
found  —  like  George  Washington;  —  but  it  seems  to  have  re- 
quired great  skill  and  forbearance  to  make  even  a  large  planta- 
tion yield  any  net  return.  The  Virginia  planters  were  men  of 
large  proportions — managing  affairs  on  a  large  scale  and  taking 
liberal  views  of  everything,  except  when  the  interests  of  their 
own  class  were  menaced;  then  they  became  as  hard  and  narrow 
as  the  typical  Yankee.  There  is  something  fascinating  in  the 
descriptions  of  the  old  Virginia  houses  and  house-life  which 
have  been  left  by  travellers  of  the  olden  time.  Yet  we  know 
from  the  same  travellers  that,  even  in  Virginia's  best  days,  one 
might  sit  down  to  dinner  in  one  of  their  splendid  rooms  —  the 
table  set  with  fine  plate  and  the  appetite  sharpened  with  costly 
wines,  when  at  the  same  time  the  window,  out  of  which  one 
looked,  might  lack  several  panes  of  glass,  the  door  be  without 
a  knob,  the  shutters  hanging  by  one  hinge,  and  the  whole 
mansion  in  a  condition  of  partial  ruin.  This  was  due  to  the 
fact  that  negro  slaves  and  free  white  mechanics  seem  never 


I.] 


Social  Conditions. 


II 


to  have  been  able  to  thrive  together.  The  glass  for  these 
planters'  houses  had  been  brought  from  England,  and  all  the 
finished  woodwork  from  the  North,  while  the  workman  who 
put  them  together  had  been  imported  for  that  purpose.  The 
blood  and  sinew  of  Virginia  was  in  the  middle  class  of  whites, 
those  owning  small  estates  and  a  few  slaves.  They  were  in 
some  cases  ignorant,  and  generally  lacked  the  polish  of  the 
great  planters.  They  were  of  the  best  British  stock,  however, 
and  capable  of  development.  To  this  class  belonged  Patrick 
Henry  and  John  Marshall,^/ while  Washington,  Jefferson, 
Madison,  and  John  Randolph  represented  the  richer  and  more 
aristocratic  class. 

The  only  other  product  which  determined  the  whole  life  of 
a  people  was  rice.    It  was  produced  mainly  in 
South  Carolina.    Grown  in  malarial  regions,  its    Planters  of 
cultivation  was  fatal  to  the  whites,  and  only  less 

^  lina. 

SO  to  the  blacks.  The  rice  planters,  unlike  their 
Virginia  congeners,  could  not  live  on  their  plantations,  except 
for  a  brief  period  in  each  year.  They  passed  most  of  their  time 
in  the  principal  town  of  the  colony,  Charleston — which  enjoyed 
the  almost  unique  position  of  being  a  capital,  a  business  metrop- 
olis, and  a  summer  resort  all  in  one.  The  rice  planters  formed 
a  well-knit  aristocracy.  The  handling  of  the  crop  was  performed 
by  the  merchants  of  Charleston,  men  of  means  and  enterprise. 
Many  of  the  men  of  both  these  classes  had  been  educated  in 
England  or  in  the  North.  In  their  hands  centred  all  power, 
for  government  was  centralized  in  South  Carolina  as  it  was  in 
no  other  colony.  They  formed  a  true  oligarchy.  Born  and 
bred  to  habits  of  command,  they  enjoyed  an  influence  far 
beyond  what  their  numerical  importance  or  their  wealth  would 
seem  to  justify.  South  Carolina  was  prosperous  in  1 7 60  —  forty 
years  before  the  profitable  cultivation  of  cotton  began.  This 
prosperity  rested  to  a  great  extent  on  the  use  of  slave  labour, 
which  seems  to  have  been  considered  essential  to  the  well- 


12 


The  Colonists,  1760-65. 


[Chap. 


being  of  South  Carolina  in  1760,  as  it  was  deemed  to  be  one 
hundred  years  later. 

Slavery  existed  in  all  the  colonies  before  the  Revolution. 
In  the  North  it  was  everywhere  dying  out  because  it  was  un- 
profitable, except  on  the  shores  of  Narragansett  Bay  and  on  the 
banks  of  the  Hudson  River.    In  Boston  and  New 

Negro 

Slavery :  North  York  City  the  possession  of  a  young  negro  was 
and  South.  regarded  as  undesirable.  There  does  not  seem 
to  have  been  any  widespread  moral  sentiment  against  slavery, 
but  the  institution  had  no  place  in  the  economic  environment 
4  of  the  northern  colonists.  South  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line 
this  was  not  true.  The  following  definition  of  the  word  slaves 
taken  from  the  early  Virginia  statutes  is  interesting  for  many 
reasons.    It  reads  as  follows : 

"All  persons  who  have  been  imported  into  the  colony  and 
who  were  not  Christians  in  their  native  country  —  except  Turks 
and  Moors  in  amity  with  his  Majesty,  and  those  who  can  prove 
their  being  free  in  England,  or  in  any  other  Christian  country — 
shall  be  accounted  and  be  slaves,  shall  be  bought  and  sold, 
notwithstanding  their  conversion  to  Christianity  after  their 
importation." 

From  this  it  can  be  seen  that  slavery  was  regarded  by  the 
Virginians  as  justifiable  because  the  slaves  be- 
siaveryin       ^^^^  importation  were  not  Christians,  so  that 

Virginia.  ^  ' 

the  knowledge  of  Christianity  given  them  in 
Virginia  might  be  considered  as  an  equivalent  for  the 
use  of  their  bodies  during  life.  This  was  the  ground  upon 
which  slavery  was  justified  for  many  years.  One  of  the  best 
means  of  determining  the  extent  to  which  slavery  has  eaten 
into  the  body  politic  is  to  observe  the  stringency  of  the  laws 
designed  to  prevent  the  amalgamation  of  the  two  races  and  to 
prevent  insurrection.  That  slavery  was  a  firmly  established 
institution  in  Virginia  becomes  evident  when  one  reads  in  the 
statutes  of  the  Old  Dominion  that  a  white  man  marrying  a 


Negro  Slavery. 


13 


negress  shall  be  banished  and  the  clergyman  who  performed 
the  marriage  service  shall  be  subject  to  a  heavy  fine.  A  negro 
found  abroad  after  nine  o'clock  at  night  might  be  dismembered, 
and  no  penalty  beset  the  slave-owner  whose  slave  died  during  or 
in  consequence  of  punishment.  In  Virginia,  there  were  many 
white  bondservants  working  and  living  with  the  negro  slaves. 
This  probably  mitigated  to  some  extent  the  lot  of  the  slave. 
Moreover  the  cultivation  of  tobacco  was  healthful  and  easy; 
and,  taking  everything  into  consideration,  the  treatment  of  the 
blacks,  while  harsh  in  comparison  with  that  in  New  York, 
seems  to  have  been  mild  when  compared  with  their  usage  by 
the  planters  of  South  Carolina. 

In  the  latter  colony  the  slaves  were  largely  men  and 
women  of  African  birth,  carried  to  Charleston 

'  Slavery  in 

and  other  southern  seaports  from  the  western  South  Caro- 
coast  of  Africa  by  the  northern  slave-traders. 
They  were,  therefore,  more  savage  and  uncivilized  than  were 
the  negroes  of  the  tobacco  colonies,  who  were  mostly  descendants 
of  slaves  brought  over  in  the  preceding  century.  The  South 
Carolina  negroes  may  have  required  harsher  treatment  to  keep 
them  in  subjection.  Moreover  the  conditions  of  labour  in  the 
rice  colonies  were  far  more  severe  than  farther  north.  Even  the 
negroes  could  stand  the  pestilential  rice  swamps  for  a  few  years 
only.  It  became  profitable,  therefore,  to  work  them  to  the  best 
advantage  during  their  years  of  greatest  vigour.  This  naturally 
tended  to  increase  the  severity  of  their  treatment.  Another 
thing  which  made  in  the  same  direction  was  the  fact  that  the 
owner  was  absent  from  his  plantation  during  the  greater  part  of 
the  year.  Thus  instead  of  the  patriarchal  form  which  slavery 
assumed  in  Virginia,  in  South  Carolina  it  was  simply  a  business 
matter.  The  slaves  and  the  plantation  were  handed  over  to  an 
enterprising  overseer;  and  the  best  overseer  was  he  who  secured 
the  most  advantageous  returns.  Finally,  the  fact  that  the  blacks 
outnumbered  the  whites  necessarily  led  to  most  stringent  laws. 


14 


The  Colonists,  1760-65. 


[Chap. 


Slave  insurrections  occurred  from  time  to  time;  and  a  for- 
midable one  in  1740  led  to  a  revision  of  the  slave  laws  of  the 
colony.  A  few  points  gathered  from  this  revised  code  will 
demonstrate  the  extent  to  which  slavery  dominated  South 
Carolina.  In  the  first  place  the  greatest  care  was  taken  to 
prevent  slaves  from  combining  against  the  whites  and  securing 
fire-arms.  No  one,  not  even  a  slave's  master,  could  permit 
a  slave  to  have  a  gun  in  his  possession  after  sundown ;  and  all 
slaves  found  on  the  high  road  at  any  time  could  be  stopped 
and  arrested  unless  they  could  show  a  "ticket"  from  the 
master  permitting  them  to  leave  the  plantation.  The  legislators 
were  especially  fearful  lest  the  blacks  congregating  at  Charleston 
on  some  holiday  or  some  Saturday  afternoon  or  Sunday  should 
massacre  the  whites  in  a  body.  To  prevent  this,  no  master 
could  give  his  slave  a  "  ticket "  to  visit  Charleston  at  such 
times  under  penalty  of  a  heavy  fine.  In  the  second  place,  the 
judicial  procedure  in  the  case  of  a  negro  slave  was  peculiar. 
Jury  trials  were  held  only  when  a  negro  claimed  his  freedom. 
All  other  cases  in  which  negroes  were  concerned  were  tried  by 
a  court  at  which  one  justice  with  two  freeholders  in  capital 
cases,  and  a  justice  with  one  freeholder  in  less  important  cases, 
formed  a  quorum.  In  the  latter  class  of  trials,  the  justice 
gave  the  decision  with  the  consent  of  the  freeholder.  In 
capital  cases  the  trial  was  to  be  held  within  six  days  of  the 
apprehension  of  the  alleged  negro  offender,  and  execution 
followed  immediately  on  the  giving  the  sentence.  This  was 
substantially  the  system  in  vogue  until  1865.  Among  the 
capital  crimes  in  1760  were  running  away,  wounding  a  white 
person,  burning  or  destroying  rice,  corn,  grain,  pitch,  etc. 
To  limit,  if  possible,  the  practice  of  escaping  to  the  Spanish 
settlements  in  Florida,  considerable  rewards  were  offered  for  the 
apprehension  of  negroes  south  of  the  Savannah  River  —  the 
rewards  in  1740  being  ;^5o  if  alive  or  jP^io  for  the  scalp.  The 
ordinary  reward  for  the  scalp  of  a  runaway  negro  was  £^1* 


White  Servants  and  Convicts. 


IS 


A  very  considerable  portion  of  the  labour  of  the  colonies 
was  provided  by  the  employment  of  white  persons  ^^^.^^  ^^^^ 
bound  to  service  for  a  term  of  years.  Some  of  vants  and 
these  servants  came  to  America  of  their  own  ac- 
cord  and  sold  their  services  tp  secure  the  means  to  provide  for 
the  expenses  of  the  transfer  from  the  old  world  to  the  new. 
These  were  called  " Redemptioners  "  or  "Free  Willers,"  and 
were  a  most  respectable  and  desirable  class  of  immigrants. 
They  were  to  be  found  most  largely  in  Pennsylvania.  At  the 
termination  of  their  terms  of  service  they  were  given  a  start  in 
life  by  the  colony  and  the  master,  the  colony  furnishing  land, 
and  the  master  agricultural  implements.  Another  class  of 
bondservants  were  not  so  desirable,  namely  the  "  indented  " 
servants  drawn  from  the  criminal  classes  of  Great  Britain. 
The  Habeas  Corpus  Act  of  1679  provided,  among  other  things, 
that  no  subject  should  be  sent  to  foreign  prisons,  or  to  parts 
beyond  the  s-eas,  except  those  who  in  open  court  should 
request  to  be  transported.  Early  in  the  reign  of  George  I, 
Parliament  provided  that  persons  sentenced  to  whipping  and 
branding  might  have  their  sentences  commuted  to  seven  years' 
service  in  the  colonies;  those  liable  to  capital  punishment 
might  satisfy  the  requirements  of  justice  by  fourteen  years' 
service;  in  either  case,  return  to  Britain  before  the  expiration 
of  the  term  of  service  was  punishable  with  death.  The  con- 
tractors, who  paid  the  expenses  of  the  transportation  of  the 
convicts,  were  entitled  to  the  services  of  such  persons  for 
the  required  terms  and  might  assign  their  rights  to  others. 
Two  other  acts  were  passed  "for  the  more  speedy  and  ef- 
fectual transportation  of  criminals,"  and  the  practice  was 
continued  till  1770  at  least.  For  reasons  not  now  clearly 
ascertainable  most  of  these  convicts  were  sent  to  Maryland 
and  Virginia — indeed,  those  colonies  seem  to  have  been  re- 
garded almost  in  the  light  of  penal  settlements.  The  people 
of  Virginia  and  Maryland  strenuously  objected  to  this  influx 


i6 


The  Colonists,  1 760-65.  [Chap. 


of  criminals;  and  sought  to  keep  them  out  by  laws  imposing 
head  money  and  long  quarantines.  But  these  laws,  as  well  as 
those  designed  to  prevent  the  importation  of  negro  slaves, 
were  annulled  or  vetoed  by  the  king.  The  great  mass  of  the 
immigrants  who  came  over  in  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth 
century  were  either  "Free  Willers"  or,  more  often,  persons 
who  paid  their  own  expenses.  It  will  be  interesting  to  note 
some  of  the  reasons  which  induced  these  immigrants  to  settle 
in  one  colony  rather  than  in  another. 

The  chief  attractions  seem  to  have  been  (i)  the  enjoyment 

of  civil  rights,  (2)  freedom  to  exercise  one's  own 
Toleration religion,  and  (3)  the  prospect  of  becoming  an 

owner  of  land.  By  this  time  the  best  land  near 
the  sea-coast  was  already  occupied.  But  there  were  still  vast 
tracts  in  the  interior,  either  on  or  near  navigable  streams,  to 
be  had  for  the  asking.  In  Virginia,  in  order  to  secure  fifty 
acres  of  land  for  himself  and  for  each  adult  member  of  his 
family,  the  immigrant  was  only  obliged  to  present  himself  at 
the  proper  office  with  the  necessary  papers.  In  some  cases, 
grants  of  land  were  made  to  a  prospective  immigrant  before  his 
departure  from  Europe.  Oftentimes,  v/ith  a  grant  of  land, 
there  would  be  given  a  further  inducement  in  the  shape  of  an 
exemption  from  taxation  for  a  certain  number  of  years. 

Religious  considerations,  however,  had  more  weight  than 
any  other  one  thing  in  determining  the  direction  of  an  immi- 
grant's course.  New  England  was  still  Puritan  in  religion 
and  in  the  conduct  of  daily  life,  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
remained  so  for  a  half  century  longer.  But  as  the  Puritan 
movement  had  long  ceased  in  England,  there  were  no 
emigrants  of  that  persuasion.  Consequently  the  religious 
appearance  of  New  England,  during  the  eighteenth  century, 
deterred  foreigners  from  seeking  its  shores.  There  was,  in- 
deed, a  smaller  proportional  emigration  to  the  Eastern  Colo- 
nies than  to  any  other  section.    As  has  been  said,  the  land  was 


Religious  Disabilities. 


17 


already  fully  occupied.  The  New  Englanders  themselves 
became  emigrants  later  on,  exchanging  the  rocky  and  sandy 
soil  of  the  interior  and  the  coast  for  the  fertile  valleys  of  the 
Mohawk  and  the  Ohio  and  the  coasts  of  the  Great  Lakes. 

The  Roman  Catholic,  who  desired  to  better  his  condition 
by  emigration  to  the  western  world,  found  only  one  colony, 
Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  accorded  full  civil  and  religious 
liberty.  Rhode  Island,  usually  so  liberal  in 
religious  matters,  had  on  her  statute  book  a  law  cs^hoii^s.'"^" 
excluding  the  Roman  Catholics  from  the  exer- 
cise of  the  franchise.  A  law  of  New  York,  passed  in  1700 
and  not  repealed  until  after  the  Revolution,  provided  that,  after 
the  first  day  of  November  of  that  year,  a  Roman  Catholic 
priest  found  within  the  limits  of  the  colony  should  be  "  ad- 
judged to  suffer  perpetual  imprisonment;  and  if  any  person, 
being  so  sentenced,  and  actually  imprisoned,  shall  break  prison 
and  make  his  escape,  and  be  afterward  retaken,  he  shall  suffer 
such  pains  of  death,  penalties,  and  forfeitures  as  in  cases  of 
felony."  It  is,  perhaps,  needless  to  say,  that  in  all  the  other 
colonies,  excepting  Pennsylvania,  Roman  Catholics  were  de- 
prived of  the  right  to  vote  until  after  the  Revolution.  Maryland, 
which  had  been  settled  under  Roman  Catholic  auspices,  was 
now  in  the  hands  of  the  Protestants.  There  were  many  Roman 
Catholics  in  Maryland,  descendants  of  the  early  settlers.  They 
were  treated  with  a  harshness  likely  to  deter  others  of  that  faith 
from  entering  the  colony.  They  were  excluded  from  office, 
disfranchised,  obliged  to  pay  a  double  land  tax,  and  to  con- 
tribute toward  the  support  of  the  Established  Church.  In 
Virginia,  however,  we  find  the  severest  laws  against  the  Roman 
Catholic  laymen,  probably  because  the  Virginians  feared  an 
incursion  from  Maryland.  In  the  Old  Dominion  a  Roman 
Catholic  could  not  vote  or  bear  witness  in  any  case  whatever 
in  a  court  of  law,  not  even  against  his  own  negro  slave, 
nor  possess  fire-arms  of  any  description.  In  view  of  these 
C.  A.  2 


i8 


The  Colonists,  1760-65. 


[Chap. 


facts,  it  is  not  surprising  that  nearly  all  the  colonists  were 
Protestants. 

To  the  Protestant  Dissenter  all  the  colonies  were  open. 

In  Virginia  and  in  Maryland  the  Church  of  Eng- 
DisserTters"*  land  was  by  law  already  established;  but  in  the 
latter  colony,  where  the  Dissenters  were  very 
numerous,  this  meant  little  more  than  the  payment  each  year, 
towards  the  "Established"  parson's  salary,  of  a  small  amount 
of  the  poorest  tobacco  obtainable.  In  Virginia,  on  the  contrary, 
the  Church  establishment  was  in  the  hands  of  the  planting 
aristocracy.  It  was  one  of  the  bulwarks  of  the  social  fabric  of 
the  Old  Dominion,  and,  therefore,  was  guarded  with  particular 
solicitude.  Towards  the  middle  of  the  century  the  Protestant 
Dissenters  suddenly  acquired  increased  strength  and  became 
very  active.  This  aroused  the  fears  and  jealousy  of  the 
aristocracy  to  such  an  extent,  that  very  stringent  and  harsh 
laws  were  passed,  designed  to  check  the  progress  of  Dissent. 
Notwithstanding  this  discouragement,  the  Dissenters  poured 
into  the  back  regions  of  the  colony,  while  Dissent  gained 
rapidly  in  strength  in  the  older  settled  portions.  In  1763, 
Patrick  Henry,  whose  mother  was  a  Presbyterian,  stated  in 
a  court  of  law,  without  arousing  ill-feeling  except  among  the 
clergy,  that  the  only  justification  for  the  existence  of  the 
Established  Church  was  its  value  as  a  police  organization. 

Before  dismissing  the  subject  of  religious  qualifications  and 
disqualifications,  it  will  be  well,  perhaps,  to  de- 
of^ng?and.^^  scribc  more  fully  the  position  occupied  by  the 
Established  Church.  It  had  its  representatives 
in  nearly  all,  if  not  all  the  colonies,  but  it  was  established  by  law 
in  only  two  —  Maryland  and  Virginia.  Curiously  enough,  the 
Church  in  those  colonies  was  in  a  worse  condition  than  in  many 
others.  This  was  due  to  the  fact  that  the  venerable  Society 
for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  (according  to  the  rites  of 
the  Church  of  England)  in  Foreign  Parts,  provided  admirable 


The  Established  Church, 


19 


men  for  its  mission  stations  in  New  England  and  in  the  South, 
where  the  religious  competition  was  keen,  but  left  Virginia 
and  Maryland  to  the  care  of  the  metropolitan,  the  Bishop  of 
London,  who  was  charged  with  their  supervision.  The  bishop 
was  represented  by  an  officer  termed  a  Commissary.  But  the 
Commissaries  had  great  difficulties  to  contend  with.  In  Mary- 
land there  was  constant  friction  between  the  Church  and  the 
State,  and  in  Virginia  the  vestries,  controlled  by  the  planters, 
had  obtained  entire  control  of  the  patronage  of  the  Church, 
and  refused  to  hire  a  parson  for  more  than  a  year  at  a  time. 
They  thus  held  the  clergy  in  a  state  of  subjection.  Of  course 
there  were  many  admirable  clergymen  in  both  these  colonies, 
but  in  general  it  may  be  stated  that  in  Virginia  the  clergy 
condoned  the  vices  of  their  patrons,  and  in  Maryland  some 
of  them  surpassed  their  parishioners  in  all  that  was  bad,  so 
that  the  phrase  "a  Maryland  parson"  became  a  term  of 
reproach.  In  these  circumstances,  it  seemed  desirable  to  have 
an  American  bishop  in  direct  charge  of  the  clergy  of  the 
Church  of  England  in  the  colonies.  It  happened,  American 
however,  that  in  England  the  bishop  enjoyed  Bishop  pro- 
considerable  civil  power.  It  was  stated  over 
and  over  again  that  any  bishop  who  might  be  appointed  for 
America  would  have  only  such  civil  power  as  the  laws  of  each 
colony  might  give  him.  The  Dissenters,  forming  the  great 
mass  of  the  people,  felt  that,  although  this  might  be  the  case 
in  the  beginning,  in  the  end  the  bishop  would  surely  gain 
a  great  deal  of  power.  They  enlisted  the  sympathies  of  their 
fellow  Dissenters  in  England  and  in  this  way  prevented  any  such 
appointment  from  being  made.  Nor  was  the  case  much  better 
with  the  American  clergy.  They,  with  few  exceptions,  did  not 
want  a  bishop.  Some  of  them  even  refused  to  have  the  honour 
thrust  upon  them.  A  Maryland  clergyman,  who  finally  set  out 
for  England  to  obtain  consecration,  was  met  at  the  point  of 
embarkation  by  a  writ  of  ne  exeat  reg?io  which  prevented  his 

2 — 2 


20 


The  Colonists,  1760-65.  [Chap. 


leaving  the  colony.  This  contest,  however,  kept  alive  a  spirit 
of  opposition  to  England,  which  some  students  regard  as 
among  the  most  potent  causes  of  the  Revolution;  but  very 
likely  the  matter  has  been  exaggerated.  Later  on,  the  Revolu- 
tion, by  doing  away  with  the  authority  of  English  law  in  the 
United  States,  at  once  removed  all  objections  to  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  bishop,  and  since  that  time  the  Episcopal  Church 
has  shown  great  vitality. 

The  third  great  inducement  to  a  Protestant  immigrant  from 
^-  ^  without  the  dominions  of  the  British  monarch 

Naturaliza- 
tion of  foreign  was  the  enjoyment  of  full  civil  rights  within  the 
Protestants.  limits  of  the  English  colonies.  This  was  a  wide 
departure  from  the  practice  of  other  nations,  and  from  earlier 
English  usage.  The  historical  importance  of  this  first  step 
toward  breaking  down  the  doctrine  of  inalienable  allegiance 
can  hardly  be  overestimated.  It  is  important  also  to  under- 
stand the  position  of  the  British  Parliament  at  this  period 
in  connection  with  the  subsequent  impressment  controversy 
between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain.  The  British 
Parliament  in  1740  passed  an  Act  (13  Geo.  II,  cap.  7)  con- 
ferring all  civil  rights  within  the  colonies  —  though  not  in  Great 
Britain  —  on  foreign  Protestants  who  had  resided  there  for 
seven  years.  In  addition,  many  of  the  colonies  passed  laws 
conferring  rights  of  citizenship  within  the  colony  after  a  much 
shorter  period  of  residence,  in  some  cases  requiring  only  one 
year.  The  policy  outlined  in  these  acts  has  been  followed 
in  the  United  States  ever  since.  The  religious  qualification 
disappeared  at  the  Revolution,  and  the  only  exception  to  the 
enjoyment  of  full  civil  rights  is  the  provision  in  the  Constitution 
that  the  President  of  the  United  States  must  be  native  born. 
The  period  of  residence  has  been  changed  twice.  It  is  now 
five  years  in  the  general  law.  Many  bands  of  immigrants,  to 
return  to  colonial  times,  were  naturalized  by  special  colonial 
acts  before  their  departure  from  their  old  homes. 


I.] 


Naturalization  and  Education, 


21 


The  eighteenth  century  is  remarkable  for  the  rise  of  the 
legal  profession  in  the  colonies  as  well  as  in 
England.  At  the  time  now  under  review,  profl^ision^^ 
Blackstone  was  writing  his  Commentaries^  and 
Mansfield  and  Camden  occupied  the  two  foremost  places 
on  the  bench.  In  America,  even  in  New  England,  where 
the  clergy  had  long  held  an  undisputed  sway,  the  lawyers 
were  fast  becoming  the  leaders  of  political  thought.  James 
Otis  and  John  Adams  in  Massachusetts,  Stephen  Hopkins 
and  William  Ellery  in  Rhode  Island,  Roger  Sherman  and 
Oliver  Ellsworth  in  Connecticut,  wielded  a  power  equalled  only 
by  that  of  the  Puritan  divines  of  a  century  before.  Robert 
R.  Livingston  and  John  Jay  of  New  York,  with  Andrew 
Hamilton  and  Thomas  McKean  of  Pennsylvania,  were  among 
the  founders  of  the  renowned  bars  of  those  colonies.  In  Vir- 
ginia, Patrick  Henry  and  Thomas  Jefferson,  with  the  Pendletons 
and  Randolphs,  formed  a  brilliant  group,  while  South  Carolina 
furnished  several  able  lawyers  like  the  Rutledges  and  the 
Pinckneys.  These  lawyers  were  all  learned  in  the  Common 
Law,  and  many  of  them  were  well  versed  in  the  Constitutional 
History  of  England.  They  gave  a  legal  and  constitutional  cast 
to  the  earlier  phases  of  the  Revolution.  Later,  in  combination 
with  business  men  and  men  of  affairs,  they  elaborated  in  the 
most  durable  and  efficient  forms  the  constitutions  of  the  several 
states,  and,  later  still,  the  constitution  of  the  nation. 

The  medical  profession  was  just  starting  into  vigorous  life; 
and  the  seat  of  the  earliest  medical  school  was  in  Philadelphia. 
A  small  and  active  set  of  men  had  also  made  some  progress  in 
the  direction  of  physical  science,  and  the  names  of  Benjamin 
Franklin  and  David  Rittenhouse  are  even  now  held  in  high 
esteem  by  scientific  men.  Philadelphia  was  also  the  seat  of 
the  beginnings  of  university  education  in  America,  for  there 
was  founded  the  first  school  having  as  its  object  scientific  and 
not  theological  investigation. 


22 


The  Colonists,  1760-65. 


[Chap. 


There  were  then  in  the  colonies  some  half-dozen  institu- 
tions of  learning,  bearing  the  designations  of 
cfifeges.  college  or  university  :  Harvard,  Yale,  King's  (now 

Columbia),  New  Jersey  (better  known  as  Prince- 
ton), Pennsylvania,  and  William  and  Mary.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  they  all  owed  their 
origin  to  the  desire  of  the  communities  in  which  they  were 
placed  for  a  learned  ministry  of  some  particular  faith.  Thus 
Harvard,  the  oldest  of  them,  was  founded  in  1636  to  supply 
clergymen  of  the  Independent  persuasion,  while  Yale  was 
founded  at  the  beginning  of  the  next  century  to  furnish  Puritan 
divines  of  a  slightly  different  dye ;  King's  was  in  the  hands  of 
the  Episcopahans,  Princeton  was  a  Presbyterian  seminary,  and 
Commissary  Blair  had  secured  the  endowment  for  William  and 
Mary  to  provide  Virginia  with  an  efficient  clergy  of  the 
Estabhshed  Church.  The  University  of  Pennsylvania  was  due 
largely  to  Franklin,  to  whom  all  religions  were  much  ahke. 
Founded  in  1 749  on  a  liberal  basis,  it  proved  very  successful 
and  grew  rapidly.  In  1756,  there  were  four  hundred  students 
on  its  list.  None  of  these  institutions  were  much  above  the 
grade  of  high  schools ;  still  they  produced  some  good  scholars 
of  the  older  type  and  kept  alive  a  love  of  learning.  Students 
came  to  them  from  all  parts  of  the  British  Empire,  attracted, 
in  many  cases,  by  the  soundness  of  their  theology  in  some  one 
direction.  On  the  other  hand,  many  young  men  went  to 
England  for  an  education.  This  was  notably  the  case  as  to 
the  sons  of  the  rice  planters  of  South  Carolina,  and,  to  a  lesser 
extent,  of  the  tobacco  growers  of  Virginia. 

The  system  of  free  public  schools  had  its  rise  in  New 
England  in  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
Education^^  regarded  as  an  offspring  of  the 

English  Reformation.  In  most  places,  provision 
was  made  for  the  teaching  of  reading,  writing,  and  elementary 
mathematics  ;  but  the  larger  towns  were  required  to  provide  suf- 


Secondary  Education. 


23 


ficient  instruction  to  fit  students  for  college.  At  the  beginning 
of  the  Revolution,  Rhode  Island,  alone  of  the  New  England 
colonies,  had  no  free  public  school  system.  The  Dutch  had 
provided  educational  facilities  for  their  children  in  New  Nether- 
land.  After  the  English  conquest,  however,  constant  disputes 
had  arisen  as  to  the  maintenance  of  these  schools  at  the  public 
expense,  as  they  were  intimately  connected  with  the  rehgious 
establishments  of  the  conquered  Dutch.  This  was  unfavour- 
able to  the  extension,  and  even  to  the  existence,  of  a  free  school 
system;  and,  as  late  as  1760,  there  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  any  provision  for  general  public  instruction  in  New  York. 
In  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania,  the  Quakers  and  Presby- 
terians were  strenuous  in  their  efforts  to  estabhsh  a  system  of 
free  public  education.  The  "log  colleges,"  maintained  by  the 
latter  sect  in  the  remoter  parts  of  Pennsylvania,  served  a  most 
useful  purpose,  and  may  be  regarded  as  the  prototype  of  the 
"  district  school "  of  a  later  day.  Nowhere  was  greater  effort 
made  to  educate  the  immigrants  than  in  Pennsylvania;  and 
nowhere  does  education  seem  to  have  been  more  highly  prized. 
The  legislature  of  Maryland  had  provided  in  1723  for  the 
establishment  in  every  county  of  a  school  where  grammar, 
writing,  and  mathematics  should  be  taught  by  a  member  of  the 
Established  Church.  Something  was  done  towards  carrying 
this  policy  into  effect ;  but  interest  in  the  matter  was  short- 
lived, and  the  rehgious  tone  given  to  the  schools  in  a  colony, 
where  the  Dissenters  were  very  numerous,  accounts,  in  part  at 
least,  for  the  failure  of  the  scheme.  There  were  a  few  schools 
supported  by  general  taxation  in  the  colony ;  but  they  were 
feeble  in  every  respect  and  exerted  little  influence.  The  con- 
ditions of  life  in  Virginia  made  it  difficult  to  provide  educational 
facilities  for  the  whites.  Efforts  had  been  made,  from  time  to 
time,  to  remedy  the  defect  of  a  total  lack  of  schools,  but  with 
slight  success.  WilHam  and  Mary  College  resembled  in  many 
respects  an  English  public  school  of  the  old  days.    Most  of  the 


24 


The  Colonists,  1760-65.  [Chap. 


more  prosperous  planters  employed  private  teachers  —  generally 
clergymen  —  and  these,  in  combination  with  the  college,  fur- 
nished the  young  Virginians  of  the  higher  class  with  an 
excellent  education.  The  love  of  reading  seems  to  have 
been  widespread  in  the  Old  Dominion ;  and  the  colony  con- 
tained in  1760  a  goodly  number  of  men,  who  were  fair  classical 
scholars  and  were  very  familiar  with  English  history  and 
constitutional  precedents.  There  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
an  educational  institution  of  any  kind  in  North  Carolina  in 
1760.  The  legislature  of  that  colony  had  made  provision  for 
the  founding  of  a  seminary  of  learning;  but  the  act  had  been 
vetoed  by  the  king.  It  should  be  stated,  however,  that  two 
schools  were  founded  in  North  Carolina  within  the  next  ten 
years.  There  was  no  system  of  general  education  in  South 
Carolina,  and  the  mass  of  the  white  population  was  without 
any  means  of  securing  knowledge.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
richer  planters  were  well  educated.  Taking  the  colonies  all 
through,  and  bearing  in  mind  the  large  number  of  recent  immi- 
grants, it  may  be  said  that  the  mass  of  the  whites  possessed  the 
rudiments  of  learning,  and  that  a  very  large  proportion  of  them 
were  well  educated.  For  learning  itsel:'  the  colonists  had  little 
sympathy,  although  they  recognized  the  desirability  of  knowl- 
edge for  the  power  it  conferred  on  its  possessor;  this,  indeed, 
was  their  method  of  estimating  the  value  of  nearly  everything. 
There  was  little  intercourse  between  the  people  of  the  several 
Inter  colonies  in  1760,  and  almost  none,  in  fact, 

colonial  com-  between  the  people  of  the  North  and  the  South, 
munication.  r^j^^  roads,  cvcn  in  the  older  settled  regions,  were 
few  in  number  and  very  poor  in  quality  —  for  the  most  part 
being  mere  "  dirt- roads, "  almost  impassable  during  a  portion 
of  the  year.  Throughout  the  colonies,  settlement  was  restricted 
mainly  to  places  within  easy  distance  of  navigable  water. 
Nearly  all  the  inter-colonial  communication  was  by  water,  and, 
at  best,  was  very  difficult,  not  to  say  dangerous.    The  passage 


Inter-colonial  Communication. 


25 


which  is  now  made  in  one  night  by  the  large  steamboats  which 
ply  on  Long  Island  Sound  then  required  a  week's  time  and 
often  more.  In  England,  the  era  of  coaching  was  beginning ; 
but  on  the  western  side  of  the  Atlantic,  colonial  roads  and  lack 
of  business  warranted  no  such  regular  and  expensive  accommo- 
dation —  except  for  short  distances  in  the  vicinity  of  the  larger 
towns.  It  then  cost  as  much  to  send  a  letter  from  New  York 
to  Boston  as  it  cost  to  send  a  letter  from  New  York  to  London, 
and  one-third  as  much  to  send  a  letter  sixty  miles  inland  from 
New  York  as  to  either  of  the  cities  just  mentioned.  Nor  was 
the  rate  low  enough  to  encourage  frequent  communication,  as 
it  cost  a  dollar  to  send  one  ounce  of  mail  matter  from  New 
York  to  Boston ;  the  same  service  is  now  performed  for  one- 
fiftieth  of  that  sum  —  not  taking  into  account  the  difference  in 
the  value  of  money.  In  1766,  the  rates  for  inter-colonial  water 
communication  were  reduced  to  one  third  of  the  1760  rate. 
Owing  mainly  to  the  great  expense  attending  the  transportation 
of  commodities  and  the  spread  of  "  news,"  the  conditions  of 
colonial  life,  away  from  the  larger  towns,  were  not  unlike  those 
which  prevailed  in  England  in  the  Middle  Ages.  The  greatest 
differences,  perhaps,  were  to  be  found  in  a  change  in  ideals 
and  in  the  possibilities  of  existence. 

Most  colonists  realized  that  there  was  a  better  mode  of  life 
than  that  which  they  were  obliged  to  lead.  They 
knew  also  that  the  way  to  that  better  mode  of  idtais^."^^" 
living — so  far,  at  least,  as  they  were  concerned — 
lay  in  the  possession  of  wealth.    Wealth  also  conferred  power 
on  its  possessor.    In  common  with  many  other  persons  they 
confounded  money  with  wealth,  and  in  this  way  the  acquisition 
of  money  became  the  one  great  all-absorbing  task  of  the 
colonists.    In  England,  as  well  as  in  Western  Europe,  the  old 
social  systems  remained.    In  those  countries  a  man  ordinarily 
lived  and  died  a  member  of  the  class  into  which  he  had  been 
born  —  an  agricultural  labourer  or  a  mechanic  seldom  attained 


26 


The  Colonists,  1760-65.  [Chap. 


any  higher  grade.  In  the  colonies  the  class  distinctions,  which 
rested  on  the  written  and  unwritten  laws  of  society,  were  fast 
disappearing.  As  the  second  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  is 
passed  in  review,  the  attentive  student  will  observe  that  in  the 
colonies  each  year  saw  some  social  barrier  swept  away  —  one 
might  almost  say  that  each  month  saw  something  done  toward 
the  democratization  of  colonial  society.  It  thus  came  about 
that  the  possession  of  wealth  on  the  western  side  of  the 
Atlantic  Ocean  was  equivalent  to  a  patent  of  nobility  in 
Great  Britain.  Few  travellers  understood  the  meaning  of  the 
intense  struggle  for  wealth  which  all  recognized  as  dominating 
American  life.  The  people  seemed  to  be  struggling  for  money 
for  its  own  sake,  so  to  speak.  In  reality,  they  were  intent 
on  its  acquisition  for  the  power  and  social  position  its  pos- 
session would  confer  on  the  possessor  and  his  family.  The 
ignorant  immigrant,  in  this  regard,  evinced  more  intelligence 
than  the  cultured  traveller.  In  his  old  home  in  Great  Britain 
or  Ireland,  he  led  an  easy  careless  existence.  In  the  new 
world  he  rose  early  and  worked  the  day  through  with  a 
feverish  anxiety  as  if  conscious  that  every  tree  he  felled 
on  his  little  clearing  in  the  wilderness  placed  him  nearer  his 
goal.  In  all  this,  however,  the  mainspring  of  his  action  was  a 
most  commendable  desire  to  seize  the  opportunity  which  was 
suddenly  placed  before  his  eyes  to  better  his  condition.  In 
thus  raising  his  own  level,  the  colonist  felt  that  he  was  working 
toward  the  bettering  of  the  condition  of  all  the  colonists  and 
indeed  of  the  human  race.  He  seemed  to  be  conscious  of  the 
grandeur  of  the  undertaking,  and  "appealed  to  the  world"  in 
justification  of  his  course. 

The  "English  colonies"  on  the  continent  comprised,  in 

1760,   thirteen  governments.     They  may  be 
Governments   described  as  belonging  to  one  of  two  forms, 

royal  provinces  governed  directly  by  the  Crown, 
and  colonies  in  which  the  right  to  exercise  many  of  the  func- 


I.]  Constitutional  Position  of  the  Colonists,  27 

tions  of  the  Crown  had  been  delegated  to  persons  called 
proprietaries  or  to  the  voters  of  the  colony  as  in  the  cases 
of  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island.  The  English  settlers,  to 
whichever  colony  they  went,  carried  with  them  to  their  new 
homes  "as  much  of  the  common  law  of  England  as  was 
applicable  to  their  condition."  The  qualification,  contained 
in  this  latter  phrase,  made  the  constitutional  relations  of  the 
colonists  to  the  Crown  and  to  Parliament  very  vague  and 
uncertain,  and  different  as  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  several 
colonies,  or  of  the  same  colony  at  different  stages  in  its  develop- 
ment. The  title  of  the  king  of  England  to  the  soil  was  based 
on  the  discovery  of  John  Cabot,  so  far  as  other  Christian  mon- 
archs  were  concerned.  According  to  English  legal  theories, 
the  king  was  lord  of  the  soil  as  territory  conquered  from  the 
Indians.  Acting  on  this  theory,  successive  monarchs  had 
granted  a  large  part  of  North  America  to  single  proprietors,  to 
groups  of  proprietors,  and  to  corporations.  Most  of  these 
grants  had  in  one  way  or  another  returned  to  the  Crown, 
except  as  to  rights  which  had  become  "vested."  Some  of 
them  had  been  confirmed  or  regranted  under  other  con- 
ditions. In  1774,  Jefferson  in  his  Suinmary  View  stated  a 
different  theory  as  to  the  ownership  of  the  soil.  He  said,  in 
substance,  that  the  soil  of  the  colonies  belonged  to  the  com- 
munities by  whose  exertions  it  had  been  converted  to  the  uses 
of  man,  that  is  to  the  colonists  themselves.  The  British 
government  had  no  doubts  as  to  the  validity  of  the  legal  theory. 
In  1763  the  king,  by  proclamation,  established  the  water- 
parting  between  the  rivers  flowing  into  the  Atlantic  and  those 
discharging  into  the  Mississippi  as  the  western  boundary  of  the 
seaboard  colonies.  This  seriously  limited  the  extent  of  many 
colonies;  but  his  right  so  to  limit  them  does  not  seem  to  have 
been  questioned  at  that  time.  In  the  period  of  the  Revolution, 
however,  the  colonists  treated  the  Proclamation  of  1763  as  of 
no  legal  force. 


28 


The  Colonists^  1760-65.  [Chap. 


The  king  held  the  same  position  toward  the  colonists, 
The  Crown      ^^^^        exception  of  the  inhabitants  of  New 
and  the  York,  that  he  held  toward  the  people  of  Great 

colonists.  Britain.  They  were  all  subjects  of  the  English 
Crown.  The  colony  of  New  York,  however,  had  been  settled 
originally  by  the  Dutch  and  had  been  conquered  by  the  English 
about  a  century  before  the  time  of  which  we  are  now  speaking. 
Over  it  as  a  conquered  colony,  and  not  as  one  which  had  been 
originally  settled  by  Englishmen  under  license  from  the  Crown, 
the  king  wielded  authority  which  he  did  not  possess  in  the 
other  colonies.  For  years  after  the  conquest,  New  York  had  no 
representative  assembly;  but  this  had  been  remedied  and  the 
government  of  New  York  had  been  assimilated  to  that  of  the 
other  royal  provinces.  The  king  could  not  tax  English  sub- 
jects without  their  consent,  nor  could  he  authorize  others  so  to 
do.  Legislative  bodies  had  been  established,  therefore,  in  all 
the  colonies,  save  New  York,  soon  after  their  settlement.  The 
earliest  of  these  v/as  the  Virginia  General  Assembly,  which 
met  for  the  first  time  in  16 19.  The  king's  prerogative  ex- 
tended to  the  colonies,  and  the  judges  were  appointed  by 
him  or  by  his  agents.  He  was  also  the  head  of  the  military 
establishment,  and  where  there  was  a  Church  establishment  he 
was  the  head  of  the  Church  as  well.  The  royal  rights  were 
oftentimes  vigorously  enforced.  The  best  example  of  this, 
perhaps,  was  the  enforcement  of  the  title  of  the  Crown  to 
a  share  in  the  catch  of  whales  and  other  "royal  fish"  on  the 
American  coast. 

In  the  earlier  time,  the  kings,  beginning  with  James  I, 
„  ,      had  denied  to  Parliament  any  share  in  the 

Parliament  ^ 

and  the  direction  of  colonial  affairs.    But  during  the 

colonists.  Puritan  regime,  the  Long  Parliament  had  taken 

the  control  of  colonial  affairs  into  its  hands;  after  the 
Restoration,  Parliament  continued  to  regulate  colonial  trade 
without  any  protest  from  the  Crown.     The  Revolution  of 


Representative  Institutions. 


29 


1688-89,  t)y  making  Parliament  supreme  in  the  State,  com- 
pletely altered  the  existing  relations  between  Parliament  and 
the  colonial  legislative  bodies.  But  before  1761  the  colonists 
had,  tacitly  at  least,  acknowledged  the  supremacy  of  the 
Imperial  Parliament.  They  had  not  objected  to  the  regulation 
of  colonial  trade  by  act  of  Parliament.  They  had  accepted 
without  remark  the  Post  Office  Act  of  Queen  Anne,  which 
really  levied  a  direct  tax  on  the  colonists;  and  no  protest  had 
been  raised  against  the  act  establishing  the  New  Style,  which 
affected  the  daily  life  of  every  colonist.  No  direct  issue  had 
been  raised  as  to  the  power  of  Parliament  to  levy  taxes. 
It  will  be  convenient  to  describe  in  this  place,  however,  the 
difference  which  existed  between  colonial  representative  insti- 
tutions and  those  of  Great  Britain,  for  in  that  difference  lay  the 
key  to  the  constitutional  opposition  to  the  acts  of  Parliament 
in  the  years  1 761-17 74. 

The  phrase  "no  taxation  without  representation'^  was  fa- 
miliar to  both  sections  of  the  British  people;  Representa 
but  it  conveyed  very  different  meanings  to  the  tive  Govern- 
people  of  Great  Britain  and  to  those  of  the 
English  colonies.  The  members  of  the  British  House  of 
Commons  were  elected  in  1760  in  accordance  with  a  system 
which  was  in  itself  the  growth  of  centuries  of  British  history. 
The  House  of  Commons  may  be  said  to  have  fairly  repre- 
sented the  several  classes  of  the  community  —  the  landowners 
and  their  tenants  and  labourers,  the  merchants  and  their 
clerks  and  other  employees,  the  manufacturers  and  their  work- 
men, the  Church,  and  the  legal  profession.  Although  its 
members  were  chosen  on  a  basis  both  of  apportionment  and 
franchise,  which  would  not  now  be  tolerated  in  Great  Britain, 
they  were  amenable  to  public  opinion  and  may  be  regarded  as 
giving  the  consent  of  the  people  of  Great  Britain  to  the  levying 
of  taxes.  In  the  colonies,  representation  was  apportioned  on 
a  territorial  basis,  an  attempt  being  made  in  a  few  colonies 


30 


The  Colonists,  1760-65  [Chap, 


roughly  to  adjust  it  to  population.  The  franchise  was  ordi- 
narily exercised  by  all  adult  male  whites  possessing  a 
moderate  amount  of  property.  Plural  voting  was  seldom 
permitted  and  representatives  were  paid  for  their  services. 
The  representatives  chosen  were  ordinarily  men  living  in  the 
district  in  which  they  were  elected.  A  colonist  in  using  the 
phrase  "no  taxation  without  representation"  meant  "no  tax- 
ation except  by  vote  of  a  legislative  body  in  which  a  person 
known  to  me  and  in  whose  election  I  have  taken  part  has  a 
seat."  An  Englishman,  using  the  same  phrase,  had  in  his 
mind  an  idea  which  can  be  expressed  in  the  sentence :  "  no 
taxation  except  by  vote  of  the  House  of  Commons." 

The  vast  majority  of  Englishmen  did  not  vote  for  a 

member  of  Parliament,  but  all  Englishmen  were 
rerentation.^^"    ^^^^         virtually  represented.    It  was  easy  to 

extend  the  theory  and  to  argue  that  the  colonists 
were  virtually  represented  as  well;  and  in  a  measure  they  were, 
because  merchants  interested  in  the  American  trade  sat  in  the 
House  of  Commons  or  voted  for  members  of  that  body.  Lord 
Mansfield  stated  the  theory  in  a  clear  manner  in  his  learned 
speech  against  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act.  He  said :  "  There 
can  be  no  doubt  but  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  colonies  are  as 
much  represented  in  Parliament  as  the  greatest  part  of  the 
people  of  England  are,  among  nine  millions  of  whom,  there 
are  eight  who  have  no  vote  in  electing  members  to  Parliament. 
A  member  of  Parliament  chosen  for  any  borough,  represents 
not  only  the  constituents  and  inhabitants  of  that  particular 
place,  but  he  represents  the  City  of  London,  and  all  the 
Commons  of  the  land,  and  the  inhabitants  of  all  the  colonies 
and  dominions  of  Great  Britain. "  American  writers  contended, 
that,  granting  the  soundness  of  the  general  theory  of  virtual 
representation,  there  was  still  a  difference  in  the  position 
of  Englishmen  having  no  vote  and  that  of  the  colonists. 
Members  of  Parliament,  they  argued,  were  singly  and  coUec- 


The  Imperial  Protection  Policy, 


31 


tively  responsible  both  physically  and  morally  to  the  English 
people  and  to  English  public  opinion,  while  it  was  impossible 
for  the  colonists  to  appeal  either  to  their  fears  or  to  their  inter- 
ests. There  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  legal  soundness  of  Lord 
Mansfield's  argument.  Parliament  was  the  supreme  legisla- 
tive body  of  the  Empire  under  the  existing  constitution.  As  it 
refused  to  part  with  any  portion  of  its  power,  the  only  remedy 
was  revolution. 

Before  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Parliament 
exercised  little  authority  over  the  colonies  ex- 
cept in  the  matter  of  trade  regulations.  This  ti^^Acts^^^*' 
system  was  designed  to  promote  the  interests 
of  all  parts  of  the  Empire,  those  of  some  in  one  way,  those  of 
others  in  other  ways.  The  leading  acts  establishing  this 
Imperial  protection  policy  were  mainly  those  of  Charles  II  and 
the  7  and  8  William  III,  cap.  22.  These  provided  that  no  goods 
should  be  imported  into  or  exported  out  of  the  colonies  except 
in  vessels  built  within  the  British  dominions  and  owned  and 
navigated  by  subjects  of  the  British  Crown.  It  is  especially 
important  to  observe  that  this  system  was  intended  to  confine 
the  trade  of  the  British  Empire  to  British  subjects.  The 
colonists  shared  in  this  monopoly;  and  under  its  stimulus, 
the  colonial  ship-building  and  ship-owning  interests  flourished 
greatly.  It  was  further  intended  to  give  the  profits  which 
should  arise  from  the  handling  of  the  staple  products  of  the 
Empire  to  British  merchants.  This  was  accomplished  by  pro- 
viding that  certain  commodities,  which  were  enumerated  in 
several  acts,  should  be  carried  to  Great  Britain  alone.  These 
enumerated  goods  "  included,  among  others,  tobacco,  cotton, 
indigo,  copper  ore,  and  furs,  all  of  them  products  of  the 
"English  Colonies"  on  the  continent  of  North  America.  To 
partly  compensate  the  colonists  for  the  loss  of  the  direct  trade 
of  continental  Europe,  the  tobacco  growers  of  Virginia  and 
Maryland  were  substantially  given  a  monopoly  of  the  tobacco 


32 


The  Colonists,  1760-65. 


[chap. 


trade  of  the  Empire.  On  such  of  these  "enumerated"  com- 
modities as  were  liable  to  duty  on  importation  into  Great  Britain, 
a  drawback  was  allowed  at  the  time  of  exportation.  When  it 
was  found  that  the  cost  of  re-handling  in  England  by  increasing 
the  price  prevented  the  sale,  as  in  the  case  of  rice  destined  for 
Mediterranean  ports,  such  commodity  was  excluded  from  the 
general  operation  of  the  acts.  In  this  way.  South  Carolina  rice 
destined  for  ports  north  of  Cape  Finisterre  had  to  be  first 
landed  in  Great  Britain,  but  rice  destined  for  ports  south  of 
Cape  Finisterre  might  be  carried  direct  from  South  Carolina. 
Frequently  bounties  and  premiums  were  provided,  as  in  the 
case  of  naval  stores,  hemp,  masts,  and  spars.  Among  the  acts 
designed  to  protect  and  stimulate  the  industries  of  the  English 
West  India  Islands  was  one  laying  a  prohibitory  duty  on 
sugar  and  molasses  imported  into  the  continental  colonies  from 
any  foreign  port.  This  act,  had  it  been  enforced,  would  have 
inflicted  great  hardships  on  the  people  of  New  England.  ^  But 
it  was  systematically  evaded  by  the  colonial  merchants  in 
collusion  with  the  customs  authorities.  It  is  impossible  to 
state  whether  the  net  result  of  this  system,  taken  as  a  whole, 
was  in  favour  of  Great  Britain  or  of  the  colonies.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  the  colonies  were  very  prosperous  under  it.  This  may 
have  been  due  to  the  fact  that  the  laws  which  might  have  borne 
heavily  on  the  colonists  were  practically  obsolete.  As  to  the 
restrictions  on  manufacturing,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  they 
inflicted  damage  on  colonial  interests. 

The  idea  of  the  English  authors  of  this  part  of  the  system 
seems  to  have  been  to  keep  the  British  iron  mills 
on  Colonial        busy  and  at  the  same  time  to  stimulate  the  produc- 
manufactur-      ^ion  of  crude  iron  in  the  colonies.    To  carry  out 

ing. 

this  policy,  pig  and  bar  iron  were  admitted  free  of 
duty  to  British  ports,  and  the  manufacture  of  iron  in  the  colonies 
beyond  the  stage  of  bar-iron  was  absolutely  prohibited.  The 
attempt  was  also  made  to  restrict  the  colonial  manufacture  of 


I.] 


The  Supremacy  of  Parliament, 


33 


hats  to  the  actual  needs  of  the  colonists  and  thus  prevent  com- 
petition with  the  English  hat-makers.  In  conclusion,  it  should 
be  stated  that  a  careful  examination  of  the  whole  subject  does 
not  bear  out  the  assertion,  which  has  often  been  made,  that 
Parliament  was  actuated  by  a  selfish  desire  to  promote  the 
interests  of  subjects  of  the  Crown  living  in  Britain  at  the  cost 
of  other  subjects  living  outside  of  the  realm.  On  the  contrary. 
Parliament,  at  least  in  the  earlier  time,  attempted  to  legislate  in 
the  general  interest  of  all.  It  would  be  an  interesting  inquiry 
whether  the  present  colonial  system  of  Great  Britain,  in  which 
many  of  the  colonies  hedge  themselves  about  with  protective 
tariffs,  is  really  productive  of  greater  proportional  benefit  to 
the  people  of  the  whole  Empire  tlian  was  the  colonial  system 
of  a  century  and  a  quarter  ago. 

Parliament  exercised  authority  which,  constitutionally 
speaking,  was  unlimitedo  No  man  or  body  of  Limitations 
men  reviewed  its  acts.  It  was  supreme  in  the  on  Colonial 
State.  The  colonial  assemblies  exercised  limited 
functions,  and  their  acts  were  subject  to  review.  The  powers  of 
the  colonial  legislatures  were  restrained  by  written  documents 
—  the  charters  of  the  chartered  and  proprietary  colonies,  and 
the  commissions  and  instructions  of  the  governors  of  the  royal 
provinces.  All  these  instruments  emanated  from  the  Crown. 
Furthermore,  an  appeal  lay  from  the  decision  of  the  highest 
court  of  every  colony  to  the  king  in  Council.  The  laws  of 
all  the  colonies  were  liable  to  be  reviewed  and  annulled  by 
the  same  authority,  whenever  contrary  to  act  of  Parliament. 
Moreover,  they  must  be  conformable  to  the  general  customs 
and  laws  of  England  "  so  far  as  the  circumstances  of  the  place 
will  admit."  The  issue  in  each  case  was  determined  by  the 
king  in  Council.  In  the  majority  of  cases,  the  laws  passed  by 
the  colonial  legislatures  were  regularly  sent  to  England  and 
might  be  disallowed  at  any  time  within  three  years.  The  king 
frequently  exercised  his  power  of  veto  as  to  colonial  legislation 
C.  A.  3 


34 


The  Colonists y  1760-65.  [Chap. 


after  the  royal  veto  had  become  obsolete  in  Great  Britain. 
In  this  way  the  colonists  became  accustomed  to  government 
resting  immediately  on  written  constitutions,  to  the  exercise 
of  the  veto  power,  and  to  the  interpretation  of  their  laws  and  the 
overruling  of  the  decisions  of  their  courts  by  a  judicial  body 
in  England  from  whose  judgments  there  was  no  appeal.  In 
these  facts  can  be  discerned  the  sources  of  several  of  the  most 
important  features  of  the  American  system  of  government,  as 
elaborated  in  the  constitutions  of  the  United  States  and  of  the 
several  States,  j 

The  governor  of  a  royal  province  was  the  personal  repre- 

sentative  of  the  king,  and  as  such  he  exercised 
Provincial  such  portions  of  the  king's  prerogative  as  he  was 
Governor.  authorized  to  exercise  by  his  instructions.  For 

example,  he  summoned,  prorogued,  and  dissolved  assemblies 
at  his  pleasure.  Although  the  laws  of  England,  which  were  in 
force  at  the  time  of  the  founding  of  a  colony,  were  held  to  be 
in  force  there,  subsequent  statutes  of  Parliament  did  not  extend 
to  the  colonies  unless  it  was  so  stated  in  the  act.  It  thus 
happened  that  in  many  ways  the  prerogative  was  more  exten- 
sive as  to  the  colonies  than  it  was  with  regard  to  England. 
For  instance,  the  Septennial  Act  did  not  extend  to  America, 
and  all  attempts  on  the  part  of  the  legislatures  of  the  royal 
provinces  to  regulate  the  holding  of  elections  and  the  duration 
of  assemblies  and  the  frequency  of  sessions  had  been  defeated 
by  the  use  of  the  veto  power.  In  the  chartered  colonies,  on 
the  contrary,  annual  elections  were  the  rule. 

The  royal  governor  exercised  all  executive  power,  except 

as  he  was  limited  in  his  instructions  or  by 
L^^siatures*^     colonial  acts  which  had  not  been  disallowed  by 

the  king.  He  was  the  head  of  the  colonial 
judiciary,  appointing  the  judges  and  himself  acting  as  Chief 
Justice  of  the  highest  colonial  court.  He  was  also  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  colonial  forces  and  appointed  the  more  important 


Colonial  Governments. 


35 


officers.  In  the  chartered  colonies,  the  governor  sometimes 
possessed  little  executive  power,  or,  indeed,  power  of  any  kind. 

In  Rhode  Island  he  had  no  more  authority  than  any  other 
member  of  the  Board  of  Assistants  over  whose  deliberations  he 
presided.  The  representative  bodies  throughout  the  colonies 
had  acquired  considerable  strength  through  the  exercise  of  the 
right  to  levy  and  apportion  the  taxes.  In  Virginia,  for  example, 
the  assembly  appointed  the  treasurer,  who  at  this  time  was  the 
Speaker  of  the  popular  branch  of  the  legislature.  Throughout 
the  colonies,  the  governors,  judges,  and  other  royal  officials, 
outside  of  the  customs  service,  were  dependent  upon  the 
assemblies  for  the  payment  of  their  stipends,  which  were 
frequently  withheld,  or  voted  as  the  price  of  some  concession 
on  the  part  of  the  government.  The  efficacy  of  this  means  of 
coercing  a  governor  may  be  ascertained  from  the  fact  that  the 
proprietary  of  Pennsylvania  was  obliged  to  put  successive 
governors  of  that  colony  under  bonds  to  veto  legislation  con- 
trary to  the  proprietary's  interest.  Notwithstanding  the  great 
authority  possessed  by  the  king  and  Parliament,  the  people  of 
the  several  colonies  substantially  governed  themselves  before 
1760.  It  was  well  said  that  "Grenville  lost  America  because 
he  read  the  despatches,  which  none  of  his  predecessors  had 
done."  Occasionally  the  Bishop  of  London  or  some  especially 
aggrieved  colonist  would  bring  a  case  before  the  Privy  Council 
or  the  Board  of  Trade  and  thus  arouse  the  interest  of  a  few 
persons  in  the  administration  of  colonial  affairs.  But  such 
interest  was  short-lived,  and  the  colonists  were  soon  left  to 
settle  their  affairs  in  their  own  way.  Had  it  been  otherwise,  it 
is  improbable  that  the  colonies  of  Connecticut  and  Rhode 
Island  would  have  been  permitted  long  to  continue  in  their 
position  of  partial  independence. 

The  charters  of  these  two  colonies  erected  the  voters  of 
those  dominions  into  "corporations  upon  the  place."  They 
elected  their  governors  and  enacted  laws  without  any  reference 

3—2 


36 


The  Colonists^  1760-65. 


[Chap. 


to  the  home  government.    So  liberal  were  these  charters  that 
they  survived  the  shock  of  the  Revolution  and  remained  the 
^  constitutions  of  the  States  of  Connecticut  and 

tered^cSonies.     Rhode  Island  until  18 18  and  1842  respectively. 

There  was  no  representative  of  the  king  in 
either  colony,  except  one  or  two  customs  officers.  The  charters 
of  these  colonies  were  substantially  codifications  of  the  govern- 
ment which  existed  in  Massachusetts  at  the  time  they  were 
granted  (1662  and  1663).  The  colony  charter,  under  which 
Massachusetts  had  been  founded,  was  vacated  in  1684,  and 
was  not  regranted  after  the  Revolution  of  1688.  Instead,  an 
attempt  was  made  to  establish  there  a  government  which 
may  be  described  as  a  compromise  between  the  royal  and 
charter  forms.  By  the  Massachusetts  charter  of  1691,  the 
governor  was  to  be  appointed  by  the  king  and  to  have  in 
general  the  same  powers  as  the  royal  governors.  On  the 
other  hand,  provision  was  made  for  a  House  of  Representa- 
tives to  be  elected  on  a  low  property  franchise.  The  Council, 
which  advised  the  governor  and  formed  an  upper  house  of  the 
legislature,  instead  of  being  appointed  by  the  king,  as  in  the 
royal  provinces,  was  chosen  by  the  House  of  Representatives, 
subject  to  the  approval  of  the  governor.  The  salaries  of  the 
governor  and  of  the  judges,  who  were  appointed  by  him,  were 
voted  by  the  Representatives.  There  was  great  possibility  of 
friction  between  the  representatives  of  the  king  and  of  the 
people.  The  government  had  been  in  operation  but  a  short 
time  when  disputes  began,  and  they  continued  with  scarcely  a 
break  until  1774,  when  the  government  under  the  charter  was  sus- 
pended by  act  of  Parliament.  Political  warfare  breeds  politi- 
cians, and  the  political  leaders  of  Massachusetts,  like  Samuel 
Adams  and  John  Hancock,  may  be  regarded  as  the  first  Ameri- 
can politicians.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  government  was  so  decen- 
tralized in  New  England  that  the  form  of  the  general  government 
was  of  less  importance  there  than  in  any  of  the  other  colonies. 


I.] 


Local  Government, 


37 


The  New  England  town-system  was  the  continuation  of- 
the  old  English  parish-system  before  the  days 
of  closed  vestries,  while  it  was  yet  a  popular  England  town- 
institution.  Many  changes  had  been  made,  of  ^y^*®"^- 
course,  to  adapt  the  institutions  of  Elizabethan  England  to  the 
needs  of  communities  living  in  a  wilderness.  Strong  as  was  the 
town  organization,  it  was  not  older  than  the  central  governments, 
and  it  cannot  be  said  that  the  State  was  founded  on  the  towns. 
The  two  developed  side  by  side,  the  Congregational  or  Inde- 
pendent method  of  Church  organization,  which  gave  nearly  all 
power  in  religious  matters  to  the  local  religious  bodies,  strongly 
influencing  the  civil  organization  in  the  same  direction.  The 
town  became  the  administrative  unit  and  absorbed  a  large  part 
of  the  business  of  the  colony.  Affairs  were  discussed  and  con- 
cluded at  a  general  meeting  of  all  the  voters  in  the  town. 
Certain  persons  were  selected  to  carry  on  the  town's  business 
according  to  instructions  given  them  by  the  voters  in  town 
meeting.  These  selectmen  were  the  agents  of  the  town  and 
had  such  authority  as  the  voters  of  the  town,  to  whom  they 
were  directly  responsible,  might  give  them  and  no  more.  The 
New  Englanders,  therefore,  had  a  direct  personal  interest  in 
the  management  of  their  affairs,  and  acquired  skill  in  the  trans- 
action of  political  and  public  business.  Where  government 
was  so  decentralized  it  was  difficult  to  bring  about  an  adminis- 
trative chaos.  The  dissolution  of  the  legislative  body  or  the 
abdication  of  a  governor  were  regarded  as  of  little  moment.  It 
may  also  be  observed  that  whenever  the  inhabitants  of  any  con- 
siderable number  of  these  towns  were  opposed  to  any  measure 
of  the  central  government  they  could  inaugurate  a  very  formid- 
able opposition  to  the  central  government  without  performing 
any  act  which  could  be  regarded  as  against  the  law. 

Outside  of  New  England  the  local  administration  was 
organized  on  a  less  popular  basis.  It  becomes  more  and  more 
aristocratic  and  centralized  as  one  proceeds  southward,  until, 


38 


The  Colonists^  1760-65.  [Chap. 


in  South  Carolina,  local  administration  is  merged  in  the  general 
Local  govern    administration  of  the  colony.    In  Virginia,  for 
ment  in  the        instance,  the  functions  of  local  government  were 
^°^*^*  exercised  through  the  vestries  of  the  parishes 

and  through  the  county  courts.  The  vestries  were  close 
corporations  in  1760,  and  the  members  of  the  county  courts 
were  appointed  by  the  central  government.  The  parishes  and 
the  counties  were  often  coterminous,  and  the  members  of  the 
two  governing  boards  were  frequently  the  same  persons.  Thus 
the  leading  men  in  each  county  exercised  nearly  all  local  power. 
It  happened  that  at  the  time  of  the  Revolution  the  leaders 
of  Virginian  politics  and  society  were  the  chiefs  of  the  oppo- 
sition to  the  British  government;  and,  in  this  way,  the  local 
institutions  of  Virginia  proved  to  be  a  source  of  strength, 
rather  than  of  weakness,  to  the  American  cause. 

The  people  of  the  several  sections  of  the  English-American 
Plans  of  colonies  were  wide  apart  in  their  institutional 

Union.  and  social  arrangements  in  1760,  and  their 

material  interests  were  also  different.  He  would  have  been  a 
bold  prophet  who  would  have  foretold  that  in  six  years  they 
would  voluntarily  send  delegates  to  an  inter-colonial  Congress. 
Many  schemes  of  union  had  been  proposed.  Most  of  them 
had  not  gone  beyond  the  works  of  their  proposers,  and  only 
two  need  be  even  mentioned.  In  1754  delegates  from  many 
colonies  met  at  Albany  in  response  to  the  invitation  of  the 
British  Board  of  Trade.  They  assembled  to  discuss  and 
arrange  means  for  concerted  action  against  the  French,  and 
to  adopt  some  common  policy  towards  the  Indians.  The 
outcome  of  their  deliberations  was  the  Albany  Plan  of  Union. 
This  provided  for  the  appointment  of  a  President-General  by 
the  king,  and  for  the  election  of  a  Grand  Council  by  the 
colonial  legislatures.  The  scheme  was  rejected  by  the  English 
government,  and  by  the  colonial  legislatures,  on  exactly  op- 
posite grounds  —  the  one  because  it  was  too  democratic,  the 


Plans  of  Union, 


39 


other  because  it  seemed  to  increase  the  power  of  the  Crown. 
From  these  reasons  Dr  Franklin,  its  principal  author,  con- 
cluded that  it  must  have  been  a  good  plan.  Another  scheme 
proposed  during  the  great  war  was  the  work  of  the  Lords  of 
Trade,  and  was  known  as  the  Halifax  Plan,  from  the  name  of  the 
chairman  of  the  board.  This  provided  for  a  military  co-opera- 
tion between  the  governments  of  the  several  colonies.  It  was 
further  suggested  that  each  colony's  proportion  of  the  necessary 
charges  should  be  ascertained  by  commissioners,  to  be  appointed 
by  the  councils  and  assemblies  of  the  colonies.  But  nothing 
came  of  this  scheme,  and  in  1760  there  was  no  bond  of  union 
between  the  people  of  the  different  colonies  save  the  British 
blood  which  flowed  in  the  veins  of  the  dominant  race  and  the 
common  subordination  of  all  the  colonies  to  the  Crown  and  to 
Parliament.  That  union  for  which  philosophers  and  jurists 
had  schemed  was  to  be  suddenly  brought  about  in  a  most  unex- 
pected manner  by  the  passage  of  the  Stamp  Act  in  1765. 

The  colonists  had  evinced  a  determined  spirit  of  in- 
dependence from  the  outset.  In  the  seventeenth 
century  several  colonies  had  refused  obedience  en^efbetween 
to  the  representatives  of  the  Crown,  and  one    Britain  and 

.  11-  colonies. 

colony  had  paid  no  attention  to  the  decisions  of 
the  courts  at  Westminster.  The  first  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century  was  a  period  of  almost  incessant  bickering  and  petty 
strife  between  the  representatives  of  the  British  government 
on  the  one  hand  and  the  popular  branches  of  the  colonial 
legislatures  on  the  other  hand.  These  disputes  were  usually 
confined  to  local  politics;  they  never  assumed  the  form  of  a 
combination  between  two  or  more  colonies  to  resist  the 
authority  of  Great  Britain. 

During  the  French  and  Indian  War  these  altercations 
threatened  to  assume  a  more  serious  aspect  ^. 

^  Change  in 

owing  to  the  attempts  of  British  officials  to  colonial 
enforce  obedience  to  acts  of  Parliament  as  to  p^^^^^* 


40 


The  Colo7iists,  1760-65.  [Chap,  l 


billeting  of  soldiers  and,  also,  to  the  supersession  of  colonial 
military  officers  by  those  holding  commissions  direct  from  the 
Crown.  That  these  disputes  led  to  no  graver  results  must  be 
attributed  to  the  laissez-faire  administrative  policy  of  Sir  Robert 
Walpole  and  his  immediate  successors.  Had  that  policy  been 
maintained  after  1760,  there  is  little  reason  to  believe  that  the 
conquest  of  Canada  and  the  existence  of  the  Navigation  Laws 
and  Acts  of  Trade  would  have  led  to  rebellion.  Lord  Mahon 
was  undoubtedly  right  in  saying  that,  had  not  some  new  cause 
of  complaint  arisen,  the  colonial  agents,  even  in  his  day, 
might  still  have  been  debating  at  Whitehall.  It  was  not  so  to 
be.  The  wise  counsels  of  the  earlier  time  were  thrown  to 
the  winds.  The  British  government,  by  enforcing  the  Acts 
of  Trade  and  by  levying  taxes  on  the  colonies  by  acts  of 
Parliament,  compelled  the  colonists  to  combine  in  defence  of 
what  they  considered  to  be  their  rights,  and  thus  prepared 
the  way  to  revolution  and  independence. 


CHAPTER  II. 


CONSTITUTIONAL  OPPOSITION,  I760-74. 

The  campaigns  of  the  Seven  Years'  War  in  Europe  and  in 
America  were  sustained  at  great  cost  by  the 
British  government  and  the  American  colonists,  poucy  begun 
The  Imperial  public  debt,  if  such  an  expression 
may  be  permitted,  increased  by  leaps  and  bounds.  Seeking 
to  augment  the  revenue  by  all  reasonable  means,  the  British 
government  examined  the  administration  of  the  Acts  of  Trade, 
and  discovered,  to  its  amazement,  that  those  acts  in  some 
colonies  were  not  enforced  at  all.  It  also  seemed  plain  that 
many  New  England  merchants,  unmindful  of  their  duty  to  their 
country,  had  supplied  the  French  posts  on  the  seaboard  with 
provisions.  Orders  were  at  once  issued  to  enforce  the  Acts  of 
Trade,  and  a  stimulus  was  thus  given  to  the  customs  officers 
in  Massachusetts,  who  seem  to  have  been  very  corrupt,  to 
endeavour  to  conceal  their  past  misconduct  by  a  display  of 
unwonted  energy. 

Evasion  of  the  Acts  of  Trade  prevailed  to  such  an  extent 
and  was  practised  so  openly  that  it  seems  a  misnomer  to 
term  it  smuggling.  No  one  had  ever  thought  much  about  the 
constitutionality  of  the  acts  because,  with  the  collusion  of 

41 


42 


Constitutional  Opposition^  1760-74.  [Chap. 


the  customs  officers,  it  had  been  easy  to  evade  them.  The 
enforcement  of  the  acts  at  once  showed  the  difficulty  of 
carrying  out  laws  opposed  by  a  whole  people.  Arming  the 
customs  officers  with  special  search-warrants 
si^nce^iyfi^'  provcd  to  be  of  little  use.  Such  warrants  con- 
tained the  name  of  the  informer,  and  were  re- 
turnable. In  this  way  the  informer  became  known  to  the 
community,  and  in  a  time  of  excitement  he  and  other  in- 
formers were  almost  certain  to  be  intimidated  into  silence. 
The  search-warrant  also  contained  a  description  of  the  place 
where  the  un-customed  goods  were  deposited,  and  covered 
only  the  seizure  of  merchandise  in  the  designated  place. 
When  an  officer,  supplied  with  one  of  these  warrants,  reached 
the  designated  place,  it  might  well  happen  that  the  last 
barrel  of  un-customed  sugar  was  being  rolled  through  the 
door  of  a  warehouse  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street,  or 
even  through  a  door  into  a  store  beside  the  one  he  was 
authorized  to  search.  Under  these  circumstances,  the  customs 
officials  were  practically  powerless.  They  had  recourse  to 
general  search-warrants  or  Writs  of  Assistance,  as  they  were 
usually  termed.  These  were  first  issued,  in  this  connection,  by 
Governor  Shirley  of  Massachusetts,  who  certainly  had  no  legal 
power  to  issue  them.  The  officers,  therefore,  were  directed  to 
apply  to  the  Superior  Court  for  new  writs.  This  they  did  in 
1 76 1.  James  Otis,  the  king's  Advocate,  resigned  his  office  to 
argue  against  their  issuance.  Hutchinson,  the  historian  of 
Massachusetts,  who  was  then  Chief-Justice,  asserts  that  Otis 
took  this  course  from  pique  because  his  father  had  not  been 
appointed  to  the  chief-justiceship.  There  is  absolutely  no 
proof  of  this.  Hutchinson  had  the  misfortune  to  be  on  bad 
terms  with  both  James  Otis  and  Samuel  Adams,  but  there  is  no 
more  reason  for  attributing  evil  motives  to  them  than  to  him. 
It  is  no  doubt  true  that  Otis  rejoiced  in  this,  and  in  other  oppor- 
tunities, to  heap  unpopularity  on  a  personal  enemy.    Otis  on 


II.] 


Writs  of  Assistance^  1761. 


43 


this  occasion  made  an  epoch-marking  speech,  which  is  con- 
veniently regarded  as  the  first  act  in  the  American  Revolution. 
Unfortunately  it  has  come  down  to  us  only  in  the  fragmentary 
form  of  notes  taken  by  John  Adams,  then  a  young  Boston 
lawyer. 

Conscious  that  the  law  was  against  him,  Otis  based  his 
argument  on  the  broader  ground  of  the  rights  of 
the  colonists  as  Englishmen.    He  declared  that  aiuTent!*'^'^ 
the  use  of  writs  of  assistance  was  an  act  of 
tyranny,  similar  to  the  abuse  of  power  which  had  "cost  one 
king  of  England  his  head,  another  his  throne."    He  concluded 
with  the  assertion,  based  on  a  reading  of  Coke  and  the  other 
earlier  law  writers,  that  Parliament  could  not  legalize  the 
exercise  of  an  act  of  tyranny  such  as  must  be  the  every-day 
consequence  of  the  use  of  writs  of  assistance,  for  "an  act  of 
Parliament  against  the  constitution  is  void."    This  idea  was  a 
favourite  one  with  Otis.    He  elaborated  it  a  few  years  later 
(1764)  in  his   essay  entitled    The  Rights  of  the  Colonies 
Asserted  and  Proved,    In  that  paper  he  uses  these  words : 

"  Parliament  cannot  make  two  and  two,  five  Parliaments 

are  in  all  cases  to  declare  what  is  for  the  good  of  the  whole; 
but  it  is  not  the  declaration  of  Parliament  that  makes  it  so. 
There  must  be  in  every  instance  a  higher  authority,  God. 
Should  an  act  of  Parliament  be  against  any  of  His  natural  laws, 
which  are  immutably  true,  their  declaration  would  be  contrary 
to  eternal  truth,  equity,  and  justice,  and  consequently  void." 
The  writs  of  assistance  were  granted  by  the  Court  some  months 
later,  and  were  declared  legal  by  Parliament  in  one  of  the 
Townshend  Acts  (1767).  Otis's  argument,  however,  even  in 
the  imperfect  form  in  which  it  was  reported,  penetrated  ere 
long  to  the  hearts  of  the  American  people.  Such  writs  are 
forbidden  in  every  State  constitution  of  the  revolutionary 
period,  and  in  one  of  the  first  amendments  to  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States.    Nevertheless,  it  must  be  admitted  that 


44  Constitutional  Opposition^  1760-74.  [Chap. 


Otis  was  wrong  and  that  Hutchinson  and  the  other  judges  were 
legally  right;  that  Parliament  had  the  legal  and  constitutional 
right  to  provide  for  the  issuance  of  such  writs ;  and  that  the 
only  remedy  then  in  the  hands  of  the  colonists  was  revolu- 
tion. 

This  dispute  had  hardly  subsided  when  Otis  involved  him- 
,     ,      self  in  another  as  the  champion  of  the  constitu- 

Dispute  as  to  ^ 

the** control  tional  power  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
of  the  purse.  against  the  encroachments  of  the  executive. 
Toward  the  end  of  1761,  Governor  Bernard  of  Massachusetts, 
acting  with  the  advice  of  his  Council,  and  for  what  seems  to 
have  been  a  good  reason,  expended  a  small  sum  of  money  in 
fitting  out  the  provincial  armed  sloop  for  the  protection  of 
vessels  on  the  northern  coasts  against  French  privateers.  The 
money  so  expended  was  then  in  the  colonial  treasury,  but  had 
not  been  appropriated  to  this  purpose  by  vote  of  the  House  of 
Representatives.  This  action,  unimportant  in  itself,  was  re- 
garded as  a  most  dangerous  precedent,  as  it  was  argued  that  if 
the  Governor  could  legally  arm  one  soldier  or  sailor  he  could 
arm  one  thousand  or  ten  thousand.  Led  by  Otis,  the  House 
remonstrated  against  the  act  as  depriving  them  of  "  their  most 
darling  privilege,  the  right  of  originating  all  taxes."  The 
Governor,  aware  of  the  impropriety  of  his  act,  was  not  disposed 
to  stand  by  it,  and  the  matter  would  have  stopped  at  that  point 
had  not  Otis,  in  the  remonstrance  voted  by  the  House,  made 
the  further  statement  "  that  it  would  be  of  little  consequence 
to  the  people  whether  they  were  subject  to  George  or  Louis, 
the  king  of  Great  Britain  or  the  French  king,  if  both  were 
arbitrary,  as  both  would  be,  if  both  could  levy  taxes  without 
parliament."  To  this  Bernard  objected  most  strenuously,  and 
the  phrase  was  erased  by  order  of  the  House.  In  justification 
of  his  action,  Otis  wrote  the  earliest  political  pamphlet  of  the 
Revolution,  entitled  A  Viiidication  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives,   The  political  theories  adduced  in  this  tract  may 


II.] 


Otis's  Political  Pamphlets, 


45 


be  regarded  as  the  first  statement  of  the  theory  of  government 
maintained  by  the  leaders  in  that  movement. 

Otis' s  argument  was,  to  a  great  extent,  a  mere  restatement 
of  the  ground  taken  by  Locke  in  his  Essay  on 
Government,  Among  other  things,  Otis  declared  can^th^^Ty 
that  "God  made  all  men  naturally  equal"  and 
that  "ideas  of  pre-eminence  are  acquired."  Two  years  later 
(1764),  in  his  long  essay,  which  has  been  already  mentioned, 
he  asserted  that  men  are  naturally  equal  and  that  government 
is  founded  on  the  necessities  of  our  nature.  Government  is 
described  as  being  in  the  nature  of  a  thing  given  in  trust  for  the 
good  of  mankind,  each  society  being  at  liberty  to  establish  such 
a  form  as  might  seem  to  it  best.  If  a  government  were  un- 
faithful to  its  trust,  it  should  be  opposed.  Otis  admitted  that 
it  was  difficult  to  arrange  for  the  carrying  of  the  laws  of  Nature 
into  effect.  He  regarded  the  British  constitution  as  the 
most  perfect  arrangement  for  this  purpose  that  had  yet  been 
devised.  As  to  the  rights  of  the  colonists  he  declared  that  as 
men  they  have  the  same  rights  as  other  men,  "  the  common 
children  of  the  same  Creator  with  their  brethren  in  Great 
Britain.  Nature  has  placed  all  such  in  a  state  of  equality  and 
perfect  freedom."  "Every  British  subject,  born  on  the  con- 
tinent of  America,  is,  by  the  laws  of  God  and  Nature,  by  the 
Common  Law,  and  by  Act  of  Parliament  entitled  to  all  the 
natural,  inherent,  and  inseparable  rights  of  our  fellow  subjects 
in  Great  Britain."  Among  these  rights  was  one  by  which  a  man 
could  not  be  deprived  of  his  property  without  his  consent  in 
person  or  by  representative.  He  also  asserted  that  there  was 
no  ground  for  a  distinction  between  external  and  internal  taxa- 
tion. Otis's  premises  pointed  in  one  direction  and  in  one 
direction  alone  —  revolution.  But  so  great  was  his  regard  for 
the  British  constitution  that  he  could  not  bring  himself  to  state 
the  logical  conclusion  from  his  argument,  and  ended  his  essay 
by  asserting  that  the  colonists  were  only  entitled  to  subordinate 


46  Constitutional  Opposition,  1760-74.  [Chap. 


legislatures  and  that  Parliament  was  supreme  over  all.  It  was 
thus  given  to  another  lawyer  to  state  the  American  political 
theory  in  a  more  complete  form. 

Otis  made  his  speech  against  writs  of  assistance  in  1761. 
Patrick  Some  two  years  later,  Patrick  Henry  of  Virginia 

Henry's  Stated  the  opiuious  of  a  large  portion  of  the 

speech.  people  of  Virginia  as  well  as  of  the  other  col- 

onies as  to  the  exercise  of  the  veto  power  by  the  king.  The 
case  is  always  cited  as  the  "Parson's  Cause,"  because  it  arose 
from  the  attempt  of  a  Virginia  clergyman  to  obtain  money  due 
to  him  under  the  law  of  Virginia  as  it  stood  and  not  as  it  would 
have  been  had  the  king  allowed  an  act  of  the  Virginia  legislat- 
ure to  become  law.  Into  the  technicalities  or,  indeed,  into 
the  moralities  of  the  case,  it  is  not  necessary  to  enter  here. 
The  Court  had  decided  that  the  clergyman  could  recover,  and 
the  question  before  the  jury  was  as  to  the  amount.  Patrick 
Henry  was  at  that  time  an  industrious  young  lawyer.  He 
was  of  good  British  stock,  partly  English  but  more  especially 
Scottish.  He  had  received  a  good  education  for  a  man  of  his 
time  and  place;  he  had  studied  Greek,  could  read  Latin  with 
some  ease,  and  was  very  familiar  with  the  history  and  theory  of 
the  British  constitution.  This  was  his  first  appearance  in  any 
important  cause  calling  for  the  display  of  oratory.  Brushing 
aside  the  technicalities  of  the  case,  he  denied  the  power  of  the 
king  to  veto  an  act  of  the  Virginia  Legislature  passed  for  the 
good  of  the  people  of  Virginia.  "Government,"  he  asserted, 
"was  a  conditional  compact  between  the  king,  stipulating 
protection  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  people,  stipulating  obedi- 
ence and  support  on  the  other. "  A  violation  of  these  covenants 
by  either  party  discharged  the  other  party  from  its  obligations. 
The  act  in  question  was  a  good  act  and  its  disallowance  by  the 
king  an  instance  of  misrule  and  neglect  which  made  it  necessary 
that  the  people  of  Virginia  should  provide  for  their  own  safety. 
The  king  from  being  a  father  of  his  people  had  "degenerated 


II.] 


The  Parson's  Cause. 


47 


into  a  tyrant  and  forfeited  all  right  to  his  subjects*  obedience." 
He  told  the  jurors  that,  under  the  ruling  of  the  Court,  they 
must  award  damages,  but  that  an  award  of  one  farthing  would 
satisfy  the  law.  They  awarded  one  penny.  In  these  two 
cases,  Otis  and  Henry,  between  them,  had  cast  a  serious 
shadow  on  the  authority  of  Parliament  and  on  the  prerogatives 
of  the  king.  Nevertheless  these  were  isolated  outbreaks.  They 
were  the  result,  in  each  case,  of  peculiar  local  conditions. 
They  attracted  little  attention  in  the  colonies  at  the  time,  and, 
what  was  extraordinary,  the  English  government  gave  way  in 
the  Virginia  case.  There  seems  every  reason  to  believe  that 
at  the  beginning  of  1764  no  more  loyal  and  faithful  subjects 
could  be  found  than  the  American  colonists.  In  November, 
1765,  they  were  in  open  rebellion  from  the  Penobscot  to  the 
Altamaha.  This  change  of  sentiment  was  caused  wholly  by 
an  attempt  to  tax  them  by  acts  passed  by  the  Parliament  of 
Great  Britain. 

The  position  in  which  the  British  government  found  itself 
at  the  close  of  the  war  was  a  most  difficult  one.  ^ 

Conspiracy 

This  much  must  be  conceded  at  the  outset.    The    of  Pontiac, 
public  debt  had  increased,  and  there  seemed  to 
be  no  end  to  the  expenses  to  be  incurred  in  America.  The 
newly-conquered  territory  required  a  large  body  of  troops  to 
hold  the  hostile  population  in  subjection.    The  Indians  on  the 
frontier,  under  the  leadership  of  an  able  chieftain,  Pontiac,  and 
inspired  by  designing,  or,  perhaps,  merely  ill-informed  French  % 
traders,  burst  into  open  revolt.    The  only  way  to  establish  the 
English  supremacy  was  to  crush  them.    The  colonists  on  their 
part  evinced  little  disposition  to  aid  the  authorities  with  colo- 
nial troops.    They  were  still  more  unwilling  to  contribute  to  the 
support  of  the  soldiers  of  the  regular  army,  sent  over  for  what 
the  English  government  declared  to  be  their  protection.  They 
felt  able  to  take  care  of  themselves,  and  doubted  the  necessity 
for  much  of  the  protection  it  was  proposed  to  give  them. 


48  Constitutional  Opposition^  1760-74.  [Chap. 


Besides,  the  colonists  living  in  the  different  sections  were  very 
jealous  of  one  another.  The  northern  colonists  felt  that  the 
southerners  had  not  done  their  share  in  the  late  war.  They 
were  in  no  haste  to  hurry  to  their  defence,  nor  were  they  willing 
to  contribute  money  to  fortify  the  southern  frontiers.  British 
expediency,  or  better,  perhaps,  political  wisdom,  demanded 
that  such  sectional  feelings  should  be  encouraged.  Further- 
more, it  would  be  much  better  to  gain  what  might  be  gained 
from  the  prosperity  of  the  colonists  in  an  indirect  way,  even 
at  some  cost  in  men  and  money,  than,  by  an  exercise  of  power, 
to  unite  the  northern  and  southern  colonies  in  opposition  to 
the  British  government.  This  latter,  however,  was  precisely 
what  that  government  did. 

The  Pitt-Newcastle  Ministry  was  no  longer  in  power.  Mr 
.„  ,        George  Grenville  was  now  at  the  head  of  the 

Grenville  s  ^ 

colonial  policy,  government.  Of  Grenville's  honesty  and  good 
1763-65-  intentions  there  cannot  be  the  slightest  doubt. 

He  was  an  over-zealous,  well-meaning,  but  narrow-minded 
lawyer.  He  saw  that  the  colonists  habitually  refused  to  obey 
the  trade  laws,  and  also  that  they  declined  to  take  an  effective 
part  in  what  his  military  advisers  declared  to  be  necessary 
measures  for  their  own  security,  and  for  the  best  interests  of 
the  Empire.  He  determined  in  the  first  place  to  lower  the 
prohibitory  duties  on  sugar  and  molasses,  and  then  to  enforce 
the  acts,  using  the  naval  power  of  England  if  necessary.  This 
*  new  policy  was  begun  in  1763.  It  affected  directly  the  com- 
mercial interests  of  New  England  and  aroused  great  ill-feeling 
there,  especially  in  Massachusetts.  TKe  attempt  to  secure 
funds  toward  the  support  of  the  regular  troops  led  to  the 
passage  of  the  Stamp  Act,  which  affected  all  the  colonies. 

On  the  9th  of  March,  1764,  Mr  Grenville,  in  opening  the 
budget  of  the  year,  stated  that  it  might  be  thought  proper  for 
the  colonists  to  contribute  towards  the  support  of  the  army 
stationed  among  them  for  their  protection.    He  therefore  pro- 


II.] 


The  Stamp  Act,  1765. 


49 


posed  a  resolution  that  it  might  "be  necessary  to  charge 
certain  stamp  duties  in  America."  He  had  Passage  of 
already  informed  the  colonial  agents  of  his  in-  the  stamp  Act, 
tention  to  bring  forward  this  motion,  and  had 
directed  them  to  consult  their  principals  with  a  view  to  having 
the  colonists  themselves  propose  some  more  agreeable  method 
of  raising  the  necessary  revenue.  The  resolution  was  passed 
without  debate  or  opposition.  MfGrenville  then  suggested  to 
the  colonial  agents  that  the  colonial  assemblies,  by  agreeing  to 
this  resolution  before  the  final  passing  of  the  act,  would  thereby 
establish  a  precedent  for  being  consulted  in  the  future  —  or,  he 
added,  perhaps  the  assemblies  might  propose  some  other  mode 
of  being  taxed  by  Parliament.  Ample  time  was  given  them  to 
formulate  their  wishes.  Instead  of  so  doing,  the  colonists  pro- 
tested in  vigorous  and  well-considered  language  against  being 
taxed  at  all  by  Parliament.  But  their  petitions  were  not  even 
received  by  the  House  of  Commons,  in  conformity  to  "a 
monstrous  rule,"  as  Lord  Farnborough  terms  it,  which  forbade 
petitioning  against  certain  money  bills. ^  The  act  levying 
stamp  duties  passed  the  Commons  in  March,  1765,  without  any 
considerable  debate  and  with  only  fifty  votes  in  the  negative, 
and  received  the  royal  assent.  The  king,  at  the  moment, 
was  suffering  from  his  first  attack  of  mental  disorder,  and  the 
royal  assent  was  given  by  commission.  The  colonial  agents, 
many  of  whom  were  Americans,  believing  the  act  would  be 
peacefully  carried  out,  secured  the  places  of  stamp  distributers 
for  themselves  and  their  friends. 

The  Stamp  Act,  in  itself,  was  a  fair  and  equitable  measure. 
In  its  essential  features  it  was  not  unlike  a 
Stamp  Act  passed  by  the  Massachusetts  legis-  stamp 
lature  in  1755.    No  duty  was  levied  on  the 
ordinary  papers  of  exchange  nor  on  receipts  for  money  paid. 

^  May,  Constitutional  History  (edition  of  1873),  III.  347,  and  note  i  to 
p.  348. 

C.  A.  4 


50 


Constitutional  Opposition^  1760-74. 


[Chap. 


The  money  raised  under  the  act  was  to  be  expended  in 
America  and  not  drawn  to  England.  The  only  evil  feature  of 
the  act,  as  a  law,  was  the  clause  which  provided  that,  at  the 
discretion  of  the  prosecuting  officer,  any  case  arising  under 
it  should  be  tried  in  the  Admiralty  Courts  without  a  jury. 
The  news  of  its  passage  reached  America  early  in  April. 
But  except  for  the  spiking  of  the  guns  in  a  fort  near  Phila- 
delphia, there  was  no  demonstration  of  any  moment  until 
the  end  of  May.  Many  historians  have  urged  this  as  a  proof 
that  the  act  would  have  quietly  gone  into  effect  but  for  the 
impulse  given  to  agitation  by  one  fiery  spirit.  This  view  does 
not  seem  to  be  well  founded.  The  quiet  was  rather  of  that 
sort  which  precedes  a  storm.  There  was  no  tangible  issue  to 
contest.  When  such  an  issue  should  arise  there  surely  would 
be  an  explosion.  It  chanced,  however,  that  the  matter  did 
not  rest  until  the  day  came  for  buying  stamps. 

Patrick  Henry  had  been  returned  to  fill  a  vacancy  in  the 
House  of  Burgesses,  as  the  popular  branch  of 
Henry's  Res-    -j-j^g  Virsfinia  lefifislature  was  called.    It  was  his 

olutions,  1765.  .  ..  i-i-ii  1 

first  term  of  service  m  any  legislative  body,  and 
the  Burgesses  were  mainly  conservative  men  of  property  whose 
minds,  at  this  time,  were  fully  occupied  with  an  important 
question  of  colonial  politics.  As  none  of  these  men  proposed 
to  protest  against  the  Stamp  Act,  Henry,  on  the  next  to  the 
last  day  of  the  session  (May  29,  1765),  offered  certain  resolu- 
tions which  he  forced  through  by  dint  of  his  matchless  oratory. 
There  has  been  some  confusion  as  to  the  precise  form  in  which 
the  resolutions  passed.  This  was  due  partly  to  the  fact  that 
on  the  next  day,  after  Henry  had  left,  the  Conservatives 
repealed  the  boldest  of  them.  The  whole  set,  preamble  and 
all,  had  been  sent  off  to  the  north  and  south  almost  as  soon  as 
written.  They  were  printed  everywhere  as  the  Virginia  Reso- 
lutions, and  are  here  given  entire  from  a  manuscript  copy 
left  by  Henry : 


II.] 


Henry's  Resolutions^  1765. 


SI 


"Whereas,  The  Honourable  House  of  Commons,  in 
England,  have  of  late  drawn  into  question  how  far  the  General 
Assembly  of  this  colony  hath  power  to  enact  laws  for  laying  of 
taxes  and  imposing  duties  payable  by  the  people  of  this  his 
Majesty's  most  ancient  colony;  for  settling  and  ascertaining  the 
same  to  all  future  times,  the  House  of  Burgesses  of  this  present 
General  Assembly  have  come  to  the  following  resolves :  — 

"  Resolved,  That  the  first  adventurers,  settlers  of  this  his 
Majesty's  colony  and  dominion  of  Virginia,  brought  with  them 
and  transmitted  to  their  posterity,  and  all  other  his  Majesty's 
subjects,  since  inhabiting  in  this  his  Majesty's  colony,  all  the 
privileges  and  immunities  that  have  at  any  time  been  held, 
enjoyed,  and  possessed  by  the  people  of  Great  Britain. 

"  Resolved,  That  by  two  royal  charters,  granted  by  King 
James  the  First,  the  colonists  aforesaid  are  declared  and 
entitled  to  all  privileges  and  immunities  of  natural-born  sub- 
jects, to  all  intents  and  purposes  as  if  they  had  been  abiding 
and  born  within  the  realm  of  England. 

"Resolved,  That  his  Majesty's  liege  people  of  this  his 
ancient  colony  have  enjoyed  the  right  of  being  thus  governed 
by  their  own  Assembly  in  the  article  of  taxes  and  internal 
police,  and  that  the  same  have  never  been  forfeited,  or  any 
other  way  yielded  up,  but  have  been  constantly  recognized  by 
the  King  and  people  of  Great  Britain. 

"  Resolved,  Therefore,  that  the  General  Assembly  of  this 
colony,  together  with  his  Majesty  or  his  substitutes,  have,  in 
their  representative  capacity,  the  only  exclusive  right  and 
power  to  lay  taxes  and  imposts  upon  the  inhabitants  of  this 
colony;  and  that  every  attempt  to  vest  such  power  in  any 
other  person  or  persons  whatever  than  the  General  iVssembly 
aforesaid,  is  illegal,  unconstitutional,  and  unjust,  and  has  a 
manifest  tendency  to  destroy  British  as  well  as  American  liberty. 

"  Resolved,  That  his  Majesty's  liege  people,  the  inhabitants 
of  this  colony,  are  not  bound  to  yield  obedience  to  any  law 

4—2 


52  Constitutional  Opposition^  1760-74.  [Chap. 


or  ordinance  whatever,  designed  to  impose  any  taxation  what- 
soever upon  them,  other  than  the  laws  or  ordinances  of  the 
General  Assembly  aforesaid. 

"  Resolved,  That  any  person  who  shall,  by  speaking  or 
writing,  assert  or  maintain  that  any  person  or  persons,  other 
than  the  General  Assembly  of  this  colony,  have  any  right  or 
power  to  impose  or  lay  any  taxation  on  the  people  here,  shall 
be  deemed  an  enemy  to  his  Majesty's  colony." 

These  resolutions  are  given  in  full  partly  to  show  the  legal 
phraseology  in  which  the  leaders  of  the  Revolution  were 
^accustomed  to  clothe  their  State  papers ;  but  more  especially 
to  show  the  bold  and  unhesitating  language  with  which  Henry 
was  wont  to  treat  any  subject.  At  first  they  were  passed 
around  from  hand  to  hand.  Later  on  they  were  printed  in 
the  newspapers;  but  it  was  not  until  July  that  they  were 
generally  known  throughout  the  colonies. 

Meantime,  on  June  6th,  before  the  Virginia  Resolves  were 
stamp  Act  known  at  Boston,  Otis  had  introduced  and  pushed 
Congress  through  a  reluctant  House  of  Representatives  a 

call  for  a  general  meeting  of  committees  from  all 
the  continental  assemblies  in  a  Congress  to  secure  united 
action  in  regard  to  the  Stamp  Act.  The  party  opposed  to 
agitation  was  in  the  majority  in  the  Massachusetts  House  of 
Representatives,  and  two  conservative  members  were  joined 
with  Otis  to  form  the  Massachusetts  committee.  The  response 
to  this  proposition  was  at  first  not  at  all  favourable.  Henry's 
resolutions,  however,  had  formulated  the  opinion  of  the  people 
at  large.  One  assembly  after  another  accepted  the  invitation 
of  Massachusetts  until  all  which  were  in  session,  except  that 
of  New  Hampshire,  had  chosen  committees. 

In  August,  the  names  of  the  stamp  distributers  were  made 
public.  Then  at  last  an  issue  was  raised.  Riots  occurred 
in  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  New  York, 


II.] 


The  Stamp  Act,  1/65. 


S3 


Pennsylvania,  and  Rhode  Island.  The  Boston  riots  were  the 
most  serious  of  all.  There  the  resentment  of 
the  mob  was  directed  against  the  customs  officials  Aa^dis^o*b^ed 
as  well  as  against  the  stamp  distributer.  Much 
damage  was  done  to  property,  and  the  whole  affair  was  dis- 
graceful. Before  long,  every  stamp  distributer  had  resigned. 
As  the  stamped  paper  and  the  stamps  arrived  at  the  several 
ports,  they  were  stored  in  the  forts  or  oftentimes  on  vessels  in 
the  harbours.  November  ist  arrived,  the  day  on  which  the  act 
was  to  come  into  force.  Not  a  stamp  could  be  bought.  There 
was  no  one  in  America  authorized  either  to  open  the  packages 
of  stamped  paper  or  to  sell  stamps.  In  the  condition  of  temper 
then  prevailing  among  the  people,  no  royal  official  seemed 
disposed  to  stretch  a  point  to  get  the  stamps  into  circulation. 
Soon  the  royal  officials  were  themselves  obliged  to  violate  the 
act  and  to  clear  vessels  without  using  stamped  paper  —  though 
such  clearances  were  plainly  illegal.  A  few  clearances  on 
stamped  paper  issued  by  the  collector  at  Savannah,  Georgia,  were 
the  only  instances  in  which  the  act  was  observed.  The  judges 
were  obliged,  after  a  brief  period  of  waiting,  to  open  the  courts 
regardless  of  the  law.  In  one  case,  a  clerk  of  the  court,  who  re- 
fused to  use  unstamped  paper,  was  threatened  by  the  judge  with 
confinement  for  contempt  of  court  if  he  persisted  in  his  refusal. 
The  newspapers  appeared  with  a  death's  head  or  some  ingenious 
device  in  the  corner  where  the  stamp  should  have  been.  In  the 
case  of  probate  business  alone  does  there  seem  to  have  been  any 
appreciable  inconvenience  from  the  refusal  to  use  the  stamps. 

The  Stamp  Act  Congress  met  at  New  York  on  October  7th. 
It  formulated  a  Declaration  of  Rights,  on  the  lines 
of  the  Virginia  Resolutions,  and  petitions  to  con*grTss^i765 
the  king  and  to  the  two  Houses  of  Parliament. 
The  importance  of  the  Stamp  Act  Congress  consists  not  so 
much  in  what  it  performed  as  in  the  fact  of  its  existence.  For 
years  the  English  government  had  sought  in  vain  to  bring  the 


54  Constitutional  Opposition^  1760-74.  [Chap. 


colonies  into  some  kind  of  union  against  the  French.  Now,  in 
one  moment,  of  their  own  motion,  they  came  together.  The 
Stamp  Act  Congress,  therefore,  marks  the  beginning  of  the 
American  Union.  Moreover  the  leaders  of  the  radical  party 
in  the  several  colonies  there  represented  came  together  and  ex- 
changed ideas.  For  the  first  time  the  men  of  the  Revolution 
met  each  other  face  to  face.  Virginia  was  not  represented, 
owing  to  the  impossibility  of  electing  a  committee;  and  Otis 
and  Henry,  the  two  men  who  gave  the  first  impulse  to  revolu- 
tion, probably  never  met.  ^ 
The  king  before  this  had  dismissed  the  Grenville  Ministry 

for  personal  reasons.  After  some  attempts  to 
p^itfcs^^  secure  the  services  of  Pitt,  he  was  obliged  to 

confide  the  government  to  the  section  of  the 
Whig  party,  which  might  well  have  been  called  the  Regular 
Whigs,  led  by  the  Marquis  of  Rockingham,  of  the  great  house 
of  Wentworth,  whom  the  king  had  treated  with  ignominy  a 
short  time  before.  The  ministry,  possessing  neither  the  con- 
fidence nor  the  goodwill  of  the  monarch,  nor  any  inherent 
strength  of  its  own,  immediately  found  itself  face  to  face  with  a 
serious  crisis  in  the  affairs  of  the  Empire,  Curiously  enough 
the  Stamp  tax,  which  had  been  chosen  on  account  of  what 
might  be  called  its  self-enforcing  qualities,  was  in  the  existing 
state  of  the  public  mind  in  America  almost  incapable  of  en- 
forcement —  a  whole  people  could  not  be  compelled  to  go  to 
law,  nor  could  the  colonists  be  obliged  to  make  wills  or  read 
newspapers.  They  might  dispose  of  their  property  before  death 
and  might  read  news-letters  instead  of  stamped  printed  sheets. 
They  certainly  could  not  be  forced  to  buy  stamps  without  the 
presence  of  an  army ;  and  the  ministers  must  have  paid  some 
slight  heed  to  Franklin's  remark  to  the  effect  that  an  army 
sent  to  America  would  find  no  rebellion  prevailing  there  but 
might  indeed  make  one.  There  could  be  no  hope  from 
modification  of  the  law,  as  the  act  in  its  present  shape  could  be 


II.]  Repeal  of  the  Stamp  Acty  1766.  55 


carried  out  as  easily  as  any  modified  act  could  be.  Repeal 
and  enforcement,  therefore,  were  the  only  alternatives,  and 
everything  pointed  toward  repeal. 

In  the  eyes  of  the  ministry  the  act  was  the  work  of  their 
predecessors  in  office  who  would  be  discredited  Repeal  of  the 
by  repeal.  Pitt  was  still  the  "Great  Com-  stamp  Act, 
moner,"  and  his  speech  advocating  repeal  de-  ^^^^* 
cided  the  matter.  He  sought  to  elaborate  a  theory  drawing  a 
distinction  between  the  power  to  tax  and  the  general  legislative 
power.  On  the  face  of  it  there  seemed  to  be  some  ground  for 
this  distinction.   The  preamble  of  the  Stamp  Act  itself  seemed 

to  carry  its  own  condemnation:  "We,  your  Majesty's  

subjects,  the  Commons  of  Great  Britain  give  "  the  prop- 
erty of  other  subjects  living  in  America.  Pitt  maintained  that 
Parliament  was  the  supreme  legislative  body  and  might  raise 
a  revenue  from  the  colonies  by  means  of  imposts ;  as  such  a 
tax  would  be  an  external  tax.  In  this  view,  the  majority  of 
the  colonists  would  probably  have  concurred,  with  the  ex- 
ception, perhaps,  that  they  might  have  maintained  that  only 
such  duties  as  were  incidental  to  the  regulation  of  commerce 
could  be  raised  by  Parliament.  But  up  to  that  time  there  had 
been  no  general  denial  of  the  legislative  supremacy  of  Parlia- 
ment. Otis  had  expressly  acknowledged  it.  Acting  on  Pitt's 
suggestion,  the  ministry  introduced  two  bills  —  one  repealing 
the  Stamp  Act,  the  other  declaring  the  legislative  supremacy  of 
Parliament.  Both  were  passed  (1766)  notwithstanding  very 
able  speeches  made  by  Lord  Mansfield  in  the  Peers  and  by 
Grenville  in  the  Commons  against  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp 
Act.  Looking  backward,  it  is  now  clear  that  Pitt  and  Lord 
Camden  were  wrong;  that  the  law  was  best  expounded  by 
Lord  Mansfield  and  George  Grenville;  and  that  the  Stamp 
Act  was  constitutional.  Certainly  it  was  not  expedient.  But 
here,  as  in  the  case  of  writs  of  assistance  and  the  exercise  of 
the  veto  power,  the  only  remedy  in  the  hands  of  the  colonists 


56  Constitutional  Opposition,  1760-74.  [Chap. 


was  revolution.  At  the  time,  however,  the  colonists  paid  little 
heed  to  the  Declaratory  Act  or  foresaw  that  it  would  lead  to 
another  tax.  They  rejoiced  only  over  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp 
Act. 

The  same  year  (1766)  witnessed  the  downfall  of  the 
Townshend's    Rockingham  Ministry  and  the  accession  of  Pitt 
Colonial  to  power  at  the  head  of  a  government  comprising 

representatives  of  several  groups  and  hence 
derisively  dubbed  by  Edmund  Burke  the  "Mosaic  Ministry." 
Mr  Pitt  was  no  longer  in  the  Commons,  but  had  been  raised 
to  the  peerage  as  the  Earl  of  Chatham.  As  he  was  in  feeble 
health,  the  Duke  of  Grafton,  a  man  of  slight  force,  was  the 
nominal  Prime  Minister.  Lord  Chatham  retired  at  once  to  the 
country,  suffering  from  some  mysterious  malady,  which  seems 
to  have  been  not  unlike  the  "nervous  prostration"  of  the 
present  day.  His  controlling  hand  withdrawn,  the  ministry 
soon  resolved  itself  into  its  component  parts.  The  Chancellor 
of  the  Exchequer  was  Charles  Townshend,  a  man  of  ability, 
though  lacking  force  and  steadfastness  of  purpose.  He  had  been 
in  office,  with  the  exception  of  five  years,  since  1743.  He  had 
advocated  the  right  of  Parliament  to  tax  the  colonies,  and  had 
voted  for  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act  solely  on  grounds  of 
expediency.  He  now  determined  to  raise  a  revenue  by  means 
of  taxes  to  be  levied  by  act  of  Parliament  on  goods  imported 
into  the  colonies,  the  taxes  to  be  paid  at  the  time  and  place  of 
importation.  This  would  result  in  raising  a  very  dangerous 
question  and  in  opening  a  dispute  which  might  well  have  been 
avoided.  The  colonists  did  not  deny  the  power  of  Parliament 
to  regulate  commerce,  nor  did  they  refuse  to  pay  duties  inci- 
dental thereto,  like  the  tax  of  one  penny  per  pound  on  all 
tobacco  exported  from  Virginia.  But  the  only  act  under 
which  the  question  of  raising  a  revenue  from  imports  had 
arisen  was  the  Sugar  Act.  That  had  only  recently  been 
executed  with  vigour,  and  it  bore  hard  on  New  England  alone. 


II.] 


The  Toivnshend  Acts^  ^7^7- 


57 


Moreover,  there  were  still,  great  difficulties  in  the  way  of 
enforcing  it.  The  judges  were  dependent  on  the  colonial 
legislatures  for  their  salaries,  and  there  were  then  no  exchequer 
courts  in  the  colonies.  The  colonial  juries  would  not  convict 
for  alleged  breaches  of  the  revenue  laws,  if  they  could  possibly 
avoid  it.  Furthermore,  the  English  Commissioners  of  the 
Customs  found  it  practically  impossible  to  exercise  adequate 
supervision  over  the  American  customs  officials  three  thousand 
miles  away.  Mr  Townshend  determined  to  reform  all  these 
evils,  as  he  regarded  them,  at  the  same  time  that  he  imposed 
nQw  taxes.  It  was  provided,  therefore,  in  the  Townshend 
Acts  (1767)  that  a  Board  of  Commissioners  resident  in  the 
colonies  should  have  charge  of  the  American  customs  service ; 
that  cases  arising  under  the  revenue  Acts  should  be  tried  in  the 
Admiralty  Courts  —  without  juries;  and  that  the  salaries  of  the 
colonial  judges  and  other  royal  officials  should  be  paid  out  of 
the  proceeds  of  the  new  duties.  Writs  of  assistance  were  also 
declared  by  Parliament  to  be  legal.  At  about  the  same  time 
Parliament  suspended  the  functions  of  the  Assembly  of  New 
York,  which  had  refused  to  make  certain  appropriations  re- 
quired by  an  act  of  Parliament.  Thus  at  one  moment  several 
distinct  issues  were  raised,  namely :  the  constitutional  relations 
of  Parliament  to  the  colonial  legislatures,  the  right  of  trial  by 
jury,  the  control  of  the  judiciary  and  executive,  the  legality  of 
writs  of  assistance,  and  the  right  of  Parliament  to  tax  goods 
imported  into  the  colonies.  It  is  extraordinary  that  a  man 
who  voted  for  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act  on  the  ground  of 
expediency  should  within  two  years  have  inaugurated  a  new 
policy  whose  inexpediency  was  manifest.  Mr  Townshend 
died  shortly  after  the  passage  of  these  acts,  and  it  is  not  im- 
possible that  disease  may  have  already  unsettled  an  otherwise 
brilliant  intellect. 

The  Massachusetts  House  of  Representatives  took  imme- 
diate notice  of  these  acts,  which  indeed  bore  with  greater 


58  Constitutional  Opposition^  1760-74.  [Chap. 


severity  on  the  merchants  of  New  England  than  on  the  traders 
The  Massa-  Other  section.    In  the  winter  of  1 767-68, 

chusetts  Cir-  the  Representatives  drew  up  several  letters  and 
cular  Letter.  petitions.  Among  these  papers  was  a  Circular 
Letter  to  be  signed  by  the  Speaker  and  sent  to  the  other 
assemblies,  notifying  them  of  the  action  of  Massachusetts  and 
suggesting  concerted  measures.  In  this  letter  a  desire  for 
independence  was  expressly  disavowed.  Probably  this  sen- 
tence attracted  the  attention  of  the  English  government,  Avhich 
might  well  have  been  alarmed  at  the  necessity  for  such 
a  disavowal.  At  all  events,  the  Secretary  of  State  for  the 
Colonies  wrote  to  Governor  Bernard  of  Massachusetts,  com- 
manding him  to  order  the  legislature  to  rescind  the  letter 
under  pain  of  dissolution  in  case  of  refusal.  At  the  same  time, 
letters  were  sent  to  the  governors  of  the  other  colonies,  directing 
them  to  dissolve  the  assemblies  of  their  respective  colonies  in 
case  they  acted  on  the  Circular  Letter.  It  is  difficult  to  con- 
ceive the  state  of  ignorance  of  colonial  society  which  prompted 
these  orders.  In  England  a  dissolution  of  Parliament  was 
dreaded  by  the  members  of  a  newly-elected  House  of  Commons, 
as  a  re-election  often  occasioned  considerable  expense  and 
was  always  attended  with  inconvenience.  In  the  colonies,  the 
case  was  very  different.  The  members  of  the  radical  party 
welcomed  a  new  election,  as  it  gave  them  an  opportunity  to  go 
home,  consult  their  constituents,  and  return  to  the  seat  of 
government  with  a  fresh  mandate  and  probably  in  increased 
numbers,  at  little  or  no  expense  to  themselves.  The  Massa- 
chusetts House  of  Representatives  refused  to  rescind  the 
Circular  Letter.  The  other  assemblies  hastened  to  make  the 
cause  of  Massachusetts  their  own. 

Another  cause  for  discontent  was  now  added  to  those  noted 
^.   „.  .  .      above.    According  to  an  act  passed  in  the  time 

The  Virginia  ®  ^ 

Resolves  of  of  Henry  the  Eighth,  long  before  the  days  of 
^'^^^*  colonization,  an  English  subject  accused  of 


II.]  The  Virginia  Resolves^  1769.  59 


crimes  committed  outside  the  realm  could  be  tried  and  punished 
in  England.  Both  Houses  of  Parliament  now  presented  an 
address  to  the  king,  praying  that  persons  charged  with  treason 
committed  in  the  colonies  might  be  brought  to  England  for 
trial.  The  Virginia  Assembly  met  May  nth,  1769.  It  was 
now  in  the  hands  of  the  radical  party,  or  rather  the  con- 
servative element  in  Virginia  had  been  largely  converted  to 
radicalism,  and  the  leading  men  of  property  were  now  generally 
on  the  side  of  the  maintenance  of  colonial  rights  against  the 
English  government.  Five  days  after  its  meeting,  the  House 
of  Burgesses  adopted  a  set  of  resolutions  known  as  the  Virginia 
Resolves,  setting  forth  the  colonial  contention  on  the  questions 
at  issue  in  the  clearest  and  most  outspoken  language.^  Another 
resolution  directed  the  Speaker  to  send  copies  of  these  Resolves 
to  the  several  colonial  legislatures  on  the  continent,  requesting 
their  concurrence  therein.  This  was  generally  given  —  some 
assemblies  using  the  language  of  the  Virginia  Resolves. 

The  moment  that  Governor  Botetourt  of  Virginia  was 
advised  of  the  action  of  the  Bursjesses,  he  dis- 

o  '  Non-impor- 

solved  the  assembly.  But  the  Burgesses  met  in  tation  Agree- 
a  neighbouring  house  and  signed  an  agreement 
binding  themselves  not  to  import  or  use  any  goods  taxed  by 
Parliament  until  the  obnoxious  laws  should  be  repealed.  This 
agreement  was  drawn  by  George  Mason,  later  the  draftsman 
of  the  Virginia  Bill  of  Rights,  and  was  presented  to  the  meeting 
by  George  Washington,  already  well  known  in  the  colonies  as 
a  soldier  and  one  of  the  wealthiest  men  in  Virginia,  and, 
indeed,  in  America.  There  had  been  non-importation  agree- 
ments at  the  time  of  the  Stamp  Act.  But  now  the  move- 
ment became  general.  Before  the  end  of  the  year,  all  the 
colonies  adopted  similar  agreements.  The  object  of  this 
non-importation  policy  was  to  put  pressure  on  the  English 
merchants  engaged  in  the  American  trade,  and  it  was  suc- 

1  See  Appendix  I. 


6o  Constitutional  Opposition^  1760-74.  [Chap. 


cessful.  The  Townshend  duties  had  produced  in  one  year  the 
net  sum  of  two  hundred  and  ninety-five  pounds  sterling. 
During  the  same  time  no  less  than  one  hundred  and  seventy 
thousand  pounds  had  been  expended  in  military  charges  made 
necessary  by  the  disorders  consequent  on  the  Townshend  Acts 
and  the  attempt  to  prevent  inter-colonial  action.  A  portion 
of  the  ministry,  led  by  Lord  North,  Townshend' s  successor  as 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  opposed  the  entire  repeal  of  the 
act  levying  duties.  By  a  majority  of  one,  it  was  determined  to 
retain  the  tax  on  tea,  which  had  produced  the  preceding  year  a . 
gross  revenue  of  three  hundred  pounds.  It  is  well  ascertained 
that  Lord  North  acted  under  the  direction  of  the  king,  and 
also  that  the  argument  which  influenced  the  king  was  the 
advisability  of  establishing  a  precedent.  The  other  duties 
were  abolished. 

During  these  years  (1763-70)  the  English  government 
never  seems  to  have  counted  the  cost  of  receding 

Inexpediency  ^ 

of  the  English  from  positious  oucc  taken;  nor  to  have  realized 
the  fact  that  if  concessions  were  made  they 
should  have  been  made  in  such  a  manner  as  would  have  put  an 
end  to  the  dispute.  The  colonists,  like  other  men  in  other 
countries  and  epochs,  objected  to  paying  money  to  any  tax- 
gatherer —  that  at  once  will  be  admitted.  But  in  this  question, 
they  objected  not  so  much  to  paying  money  as  to  paying 
money  which  they  felt  was  illegally  levied.  If  it  was  important 
from  the  point  of  view  of  the  English  government  to  retain  the 
tax  on  tea  as  a  species  of  continuing  declaratory  act,  it  was 
equally  important  for  the  colonists  to  pay  no  tax  which  could 
be  drawn  into  precedent.  They  drank  smuggled  tea  sold  at  a 
low  rate  by  the  Dutch  West  India  Company,  because  it  was 
cheap.  Tea,  therefore,  was  the  best  article  the  government 
could  have  chosen  for  their  purpose,  because  so  long  as  the 
tax  was  not  paid  it  attracted  little  attention.  Possibly  this 
tax  might  have  developed  quietly  into  a  precedent  had  not 


II.] 


The  Boston  Massacre ^  ^770. 


6i 


its  existence  been  brought  prominently  to  the  notice  of  the 
colonists. 

The  partial  repeal  of  the  Townshend  duties  took  place  in 
April,  1770.  In  the  preceding  March,  an  affray  ^^^^  Boston 
known  as  the  "  Boston  Massacre  "  had  very  greatly  Massacre," 
complicated  the  situation,  although  the  news  of 
the  disturbance  had  not  reached  England  at  the  time  of  the 
repeal.  This  unfortunate  affair  resulted  in  the  killing  of  several 
men  and  the  wounding  of  several  more  by  British  soldiers, 
acting  under  strong  provocation,  in  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant streets  in  Boston.  A  few  soldiers  belonging  to  the 
regular  army  had  been  ordered  to  Boston  in  1766.  The 
Board  of  Commissioners  appointed  under  the  Townshend  Acts 
established  their  head-quarters  at  the  same  place,  where  they 
were  certain  to  be  opposed  in  every  possible  manner.  They 
might  have  entered  upon  their  duties  at  one  of  the  ports  of 
the  Middle  Colonies  with  much  greater  convenience  to  the 
service  and  with  no  danger  to  themselves.  The  point  now 
under  discussion  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  rightfulness  or 
otherwise  of  the  Acts  of  Trade.  The  government  having 
undertaken  to  enforce  them  should  not  have  placed  its  agents 
without  adequate  protection  among  the  people  most  likely  to 
resist  them  in  the  discharge  of  their  functions.  The  seizure  of 
the  sloop  Liberty,  owned  by  John  Hancock,  a  wealthy  merchant 
and  very  popular  man,  brought  on  the  Commissioners  the 
anger  of  the  mob.  They  fled  to  a  fort  in  the  harbour  and 
demanded  more  troops  and  a  large  naval  force  for  their  pro- 
tection. The  soldiers  sent  in  these  circumstances  were  re- 
garded as  aliens  and  enemies  by  the  people  of  Massachusetts. 
The  officers  were  treated  as  outcasts  and  frowned  upon  by 
what  is  known  as  "society."  Early  in  1770,  blood  was  shed 
in  an  attempt  by  a  party  from  the  Rose  frigate  to  impress  seamen 
from  a  colonial  vessel.  Later,  a  boy  had  been  accidentally 
killed  in  the  streets  of  Boston.  The  "  massacre  "  of  March,  1770, 


62  Constitutional  Opposition^  1760-74.  [Chap. 


was  brought  on  by  a  personal  dispute  between  some  soldiers  and 
labourers.  In  the  beginning,  it  had  no  connection  with  taxa- 
tion or  the  rights  of  the  colonies.  As  soon  as  the  "massacre  " 
became  known,  it  was  at  once  evident  that  a  very  serious  crisis 
had  arisen.  In  the  temper  then  prevailing,  the  troops  must  be 
removed  or  they  would  be  slaughtered  to  a  man,  and  an  armed 
conflict  with  the  mother  country  precipitated.  Samuel  Adams 
stated  the  facts  to  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  Hutchinson,  who 
in  the  absence  of  Bernard  acted  as  Governor,  and  later  was  ap- 
pointed Governor.  Hutchinson  tried  to  temporize  and  offered 
to  remove  a  part  of  the  troops.  But  Adams  replied  that  if  he 
could  order  one  regiment  away  he  could  send  all,  and  all  the 
soldiers  were  removed  from  the  town.  The  officers  and  men 
present  at  the  time  of  the  firing  were  tried  on  a  charge  of 
murder.  They  were  defended  by  John  Adams  and  Josiah 
Quincy,  two  leading  patriots,  and  acquitted  by  a  jury  of 
colonists.  Two  soldiers  were  convicted  of  manslaughter  and 
slightly  branded.  After  the  lapse  of  more  than  a  century,  the 
historical  student  feels  impelled  to  bear  witness  to  the  general 
good  behaviour  of  the  soldiers  under  trying  circumstances,  and 
to  the  sense  of  justice  exhibited  by  the  jurymen  at  the  trial. 
The  anniversary  of  the  "massacre"  was  celebrated  until  after 
the  peace  of  1783.  Probably  the  issues  underlying  no  other 
event  in  American  history  have  been  so  misunderstood  by 
friends  and  opponents  as  those  relating  to  this  so-called 
"  massacre. "  The  colonists  regarded  the  British  standing  army 
as  existing  under  British  law.  They  considered  that  their 
consent  —  they  not  being  represented  in  Parliament  —  had  not 
been  given  to  the  standing  army.  They  maintained  that  such 
consent  could  only  be  given  by  the  legislatures  of  the  several 
colonies.  From  the  colonists'  standpoint,  the  troops  had  no 
more  constitutional  right  in  Massachusetts  than  the  Dutch 
soldiers  had  in  England  during  the  time  of  William  III.  The 
theory  underlying  the  argument  was  the  same  as  that  on  which 


n.] 


Committees  of  Correspondence. 


63 


the  opposition  to  taxation  rested.  The  colonists  in  short 
denied  the  existence  of  a  legislative  union  with  England. 
From  another  point  of  view  the  "massacre"  was  important 
because  it  showed  the  danger  to  the  liberty  of  the  subject 
incurred  by  the  substitution  of  the  military  for  the  civil  power. 
The  removal  of  the  troops,  therefore,  was  commemorated  as  a 
victory  for  freedom. 

After  the  removal  of  the  soldiers,  a  time  of  quiet  supervened. 
For  a  moment,  it  seemed  as  if  there  were  nothing  to  dispute 
about.  The  soldiers  were  out  of  sight,  and  the  Tea  Act  was 
forgotten.  The  struggle  was  soon  renewed.  i^^^^x  com 
Hutchinson  refused  to  accept  any  salary  from  the  mittees  of  Cor- 
province,  and  later  it  was  announced  that  the  ^^spondence. 
judges  would  likewise  be  paid  by  the  Crown.  As  may  be  easily 
imagined,  it  is  difficult  to  stir  up  rebellion  for  the  right  to  pay 
another's  salary.  Hutchinson,  however,  most  rashly  began  an 
academic  discussion  as  to  the  rights  and  duties  of  the  colonists, 
proving  conclusively  that  the  position  assumed  by  the  colonists 
was  unsound  and  that  they  must  either  submit  or  become  inde- 
pendent. Hutchinson  undoubtedly  was  right,  but  it  was  the 
height  of  imprudence  to  convince  the  colonists  that  they  must 
submit  to  what  they  regarded  as  tyranny,  or  fight.  Samuel 
Adams  saw  at  once  the  advantage  such  a  discussion  gave  to  his 
side.  Almost  alone  at  this  time,  he  ardently  longed  for  inde- 
pendence. He  organized  a  system  of  town  Committees  of 
Correspondence  throughout  the  province  and  set  on  foot  a 
discussion  of  the  case.  At  the  time  no  answering  echo  came 
to  Massachusetts  from  the  other  colonies.  One  over-zealous 
officer  had  placed  in  Adams'  s  hand  this  most  formidable  weapon 
of  revolutionary  organization,  the  acts  of  another  over-zealous 
officer  gave  Henry  the  opportunity  to  extend  the  system  of 
extra-legal  political  organization  to  all  the  colonies. 

This  latter  official  was  Lieutenant  Dudington,  master  of  the 
revenue  vessel  Gaspee,  employed  in  watching  the  waters  of 


64  Constitutional  Opposition^  1760-74.  [Chap. 


Narragansett  Bay.  He  had  incurred  the  ill-will  of  all  the 
merchants  and  traders  on  the  bay.  One  night, 
oi^x^T'calpZ  ^  report  was  brought  to  Providence  that  the 
Gaspee  was  ground  some  few  miles  away.  Led 
by  the  most  prominent  merchant  in  the  place,  men  from  Provi- 
dence boarded  her  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  seized  the  crew, 
and  set  the  vessel  on  fire.  The  affair  was  really  a  personal 
encounter  between  an  official  and  persons  whom  he  had  of- 
fended. It  is  not  well  to  make  mole-hills  into  mountains;  and 
never  was  a  mole-hill  exaggerated  as  was  this.  A  most  porten- 
tous Commission,  including  three  chief-justices,  was  sent  to 
Rhode  Island  to  inquire  into  the  matter,  to  seize  the  perpetra- 
tors, and  to  convey  them  to  another  colony  or  to  England  for 
trial.  Probably  several  hundred  if  not  a  thousand  persons  knew 
the  names  of  nearly  every  one  who  had  taken  part  in  the  burn- 
ing of  the  Gaspee^  but  not  one  name  could  the  Commission  of 
Inquiry  discover.  Moreover,  the  Chief-Justice  of  Rhode  Island, 
Stephen  Hopkins  by  name,  declared  that  not  a  person  should 
be  removed  from  the  colony  for  trial  without  its  limits.  The 
Commission  abandoned  the  inquiry  and  reported  its  failure  to 
the  king.    But  the  matter  did  not  stop  at  that  point. 

The  Virginia  Assembly  happened  to  be  in  session  when  the 
report  of  the  appointment  of  this  Commission 
Committees        reached  the  Old  Dominion.    Under  the  leader- 
of  corre-  gj^jp  Qf  Patrick  Henry  and  Thomas  Jefferson,  a 

spondence.  ^ 

permanent  Committee  of  Correspondence  was 
appointed  "  to  maintain  a  correspondence  with  our  sister 
colonies  "  and  to  inform  themselves  particularly  of  the  facts 
as  to  the  Gaspee  Commission.  The  resolution  was  communi- 
cated to  the  other  colonies,  but  at  first  with  discouraging  re- 
sults, as  only  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New 
Hampshire,  and  South  Carolina  joined  Virginia  in  appointing 
Colonial  Committees  of  Correspondence  (July,  1773).  The 
machinery,  however,  had  been  invented  which  might  easily 


n.] 


Destruction  of  the  Gaspee. 


65 


develop  into  a  complete  organization,  for,  by  combining  the 
Virginia  colonial  committees  with  committees  of  local  divisions 
as  in  Samuel  Adams's  plan,  an  extra-legal,  yet  not  illegal, 
organization  might  be  formed  capable  of  exercising  all  the 
functions  of  the  State.  The  attempt  to  compel  the  colonists 
to  purchase  tea  on  which  the  Parliamentary  tax  had  been  paid 
brought  all  the  colonies  into  this  revolutionary  union. 

The  English  East  India  Company  had  never  controlled  the 
colonial  tea  market.  The  reason  was,  that  in  addition  to  the 
original  cost  and  freight  charges,  to  which  all  tea  was  liable, 
English  tea  was  further  liable  to  an  inland  duty 
of  twelve-pence  per  pound  to  be  paid  on  with- 
drawal  from  the  warehouses  for  consumption  in 
England,  or  for  export  to  the  colonies.  Under  the  Townshend 
Acts  it  was  still  further  burdened  with  a  customs  duty  of  three- 
pence per  pound  when  landed  in  the  colonies.  In  these  cir- 
cumstances, the  Dutch  East  India  Company  provided  nearly 
all  the  tea  consumed  in  America,  which  was  smuggled  in  free 
of  duty.  The  English  company  was  now  in  severe  financial 
straits.  To  help  it  out  of  its  difficulties,  the  government  pro- 
posed to  permit  it  to  send  tea  to  the  colonies  without  payment 
of  the  twelve-penny  inland  duty,  but  still  liable  to  the  three- 
penny Townshend  tax.  Friends  of  the  government,  and,  it  is 
stated,  the  company  also,  suggested  that  the  latter  tax  should 
be  paid  by  the  company  in  England  and  added  to  the 
price  of  the  tea  without  anything  being  said  about  it.  But  the 
government  was  immovable  on  that  point.  They  were  anxious 
to  establish  a  precedent,  and  to  accomplish  that  the  tax  must 
be  paid  in  America.  The  colonists,  regarding  the  whole  busi- 
ness as  an  attempt  to  bribe  them  into  surrender,  by  giving  them 
tea  cheaper  than  the  people  of  England  could  buy  it,  refused 
from  North  to  South,  apparently  without  any  urging  from  the 
Committees  of  Correspondence,  to  have  anything  whatever  to 
do  with  it.  Large  quantities  were  at  once  despatched  to 
C.  A.  5 


66  Constitutional  Opposition,  1760-74.  [Chap. 


Philadelphia,  Charleston  (South  Carolina),  New  York,  and 
Boston.  The  consignees  at  the  two  first-named  ports  resigned 
when  requested  by  the  people.  No  tea  was  landed  at  Phila- 
delphia and  New  York,  the  collectors  of  those  ports  allowing 
the  vessels  to  clear  without  breaking  bulk.  At  Charleston  the 
collector  insisted  upon  the  tea  being  landed.  It  was  stored  in 
a  damp  cellar  and  soon  spoiled.  At  Boston,  however,  a  com- 
bination of  circumstances  brought  on  an  explosion. 

Among  the  consignees  were  the  sons  of  Governor  Hutchin- 
The  Boston  They  refuscd  to  resign.    The  collector  of 

Tea  Party,"  the  port  rcfuscd  to  allow  the  vessels  to  clear  out- 
Dec.  1773.  ward  until  the  tea  had  been  landed  in  conformity 
to  law.  The  governor  declined  to  grant  a  permit  to  the  vessels 
to  pass  the  fort  until  they  were  properly  cleared.  The  only 
way  to  cut  the  knot  was  to  destroy  the  tea,  and  it  was  thrown 
into  the  harbour  by  a  mob. 

These  occurrences  at  once  aroused  great  excitement  on 
„  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic.    Six  more  colonies 

The  Repres- 
sive Acts  of        chose  Committees  of  Correspondence,  Pennsyl- 

vania  alone  refusing.  Unmindful  of  these  things 

and  of  the  action  of  Virginia  on  the  occasions  of  the  Stamp 

Act  and  the  Gaspee  Commission,  the  English  government 

determined  to  isolate  Massachusetts,  and  to  crush  out  the  spirit 

of  resistance  in  that  Province.    Parliament  speedily  suspended, 

by  statute,  the  operation  of  the  Charter  of  Massachusetts,  closed 

the  port  of  Boston  to  commerce,  and  provided  that  persons 

accused  of  crimes,  alleged  to  have  been  committed  while 

putting  down  riots,  should  be  transported  for  trial  with  the 

necessary  witnesses  to  some  place  outside  the  colony.  General 

Gage,  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  British  army  in  America, 

was  commissioned  governor  with  very  extensive  powers.  At 

nearly  the  same  time,  the  Quebec  Act  extended  the  limits  of 

the  Province  of  Quebec  to  include  the  country  west  of  the 

Alleghanies,  as  far  south  as  the  Ohio  River. 


II.] 


The  Acts  of  1774. 


67 


The  colonies  of  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  New  York, 
Pennsylvania,  and  Virginia  all  claimed  rights  in 
this  territory.  The  third  and  fourth  clauses  of 
the  act  reserved  the  rights  of  holders  of  grants 
from  the  Crown.  It  is  impossible  to  say  precisely  what  this 
reservation  meant,  as  no  case  involving  these  points  has  ever 
been  decided  by  the  courts.  It  is  probable  that  the  titles  of 
Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  and  Pennsylvania  would  have  been 
recognized.  These  saving  clauses  "  do  not  seem  to  have  been 
widely  known  in  America.  Quebec  was  largely  inhabited  by 
Roman  Catholics,  and  was  governed  as  a  conquered  province. 
This  act  was  understood  by  the  colonists  to  evince  a  disposi- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  English  government  to  limit  the  self- 
governing  colonies  to  the  seaboard,  to  establish  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  in  a  large  portion  of  British  America,  and  to 
extend  the  use  of  the  civil  as  distinguished  from  the  common  law. 
For  these  reasons  its  passage  aroused  feelings  of  bitter  resent- 
ment among  the  colonists,  whose  passions  were  already  excited 
by  the  harsh  treatment  measured  out  to  the  town  of  Boston. 

The  people  of  the  other  colonies  made  the  cause  of  Massa- 
chusetts their  own.  Washington  offered  to  raise,  Jefferson's 
arm,  and  equip  a  thousand  men  at  his  own  ex-  Summary 
pense,  and  to  march  at  their  head  to  the  defence 
of  the  people  of  Boston.    From  all  parts  of  the  continent  came 
supplies  of-  food,  clothing,  and  other  necessaries  for  the  poor 
of  the  closed  seaport.    Jefferson,  in  his  Summary  View,  boldly 
set  forth  the  theory  that  Parliament  had  no  authority  whatever 
over  the  colonies,  not  even  as  to  the  regulation  of  the  external 
trade  of  the  colonies.    This  theory  speedily  found  favour  among 
a  people  who  until  1774  had  expressly  admitted  the  legislative 
supremacy  of  the  British  Parliament  in  all  cases  whatsoever, 
excepting  that  of  taxation.    Everywhere  the  opposition  party 
became  bolder;  everywhere  it  acquired  increased  strength. 

On  the  17th  of  June,  1774,  the  Massachusetts  legislature 

s— 2 


68  Constitutional  Opposition^  1760-74.  [Chap. 


was  in  session  at  Salem,  the  new  capital  of  the  province.  The 
A  Continen  doors  of  the  room,  in  which  the  Representatives 
tai  Congress  Were  in  session,  were  locked.  Samuel  Adams 
summoned.  moved  a  resolution  providing  for  a  Continental 
Congress  to  be  held  at  Philadelphia  on  September  ist  next  en- 
suing. The  two  Adamses  and  two  other  persons  were  then  chosen 
to  represent  Massachusetts  in  the  Congress.  While  this  debate 
was  in  progress,  the  Secretary  of  the  Province,  standing  on 
the  staircase,  just  without  the  Representatives'  door,  read  a 
proclamation  from  the  governor,  dissolving  the  assembly. 
This  time  the  call  for  a  congress  was  responded  to  most 
First  Conti  heartily.  The  First  Continental  Congress  as- 
nentai  Con-  scmblcd  at  the  appointed  day,  all  the  colonies 
gress,  1774.  except  Georgia  being  represented.  It  was  dis- 
tinctly in  the  control  of  those-iWh®  advpcated  moderation,  and 
were  not 'prepared  to  go  to  th^  lengths^  advocated  by  Jefferson 
in  the  Summary  View,  This  #as.  recognized  by  the  J^ew 
Englanders,  who  kept  as  much  as  possible  in  the  back- 
ground. The  Declaration  of  Rights,  voted  by  this  Con- 
gress, was  mild  in  tone,  and  the  same  criticism  applies  to  the 
memorials,  petitions,  etc.  published  by  it.  The  one  important 
measure  initiated  by  this  body  was  the  "Association  "  to  secure 
the  carrying  out  of  a  new  non-importation  and  non-consumption 
agreement.  The  Congress  recommended  that  committees  should 
be  elected  by  each  town,  county,  or  other  administrative  unit, 
by  whatever  name  it  was  called,  to  oversee  the  execution  of  the 
non-intercourse  policy.  These  committees  were  supervised  by 
the  legislative  Committees  of  Correspondence.  The  names  of 
offenders  against  the  Association  were  to  be  published,  and 
any  colony  refusing  to  enter  the  Association  should  be  regarded 
as  inimical  to  "the  liberties  of  this  country,"  and  denied  all 
intercourse  with  the  members  of  the  Association.  Thus  the 
colonies  were  for  the  first  time  united  into  one  political  organi- 
zation, apart  from  the  British  Empire.    Moreover,  the  organi- 


II.]  The  First  Continental  Congress,  69 


zation  was  so  perfect  that  it  controlled  the  movements  of  the  - 
humblest  individual.  Having  set  fhis  machinery  in  motion, 
the  Congress  adjourned,  not  without  providing,  however,  for 
the  assembling  of  a  new  Congress  in  the  following  May  (1775  , 
in  case  the  grievances  of  the  colonists  should  not  be  redressed 
before  that  time.  There  probably  were  not  a  dozen  men  in  all 
the  colonies  at  that  time  (October,  1774)  who  wished  for  in- 
dependence. Furthermore,  probably  not  a  dozen  men  in  all 
the  colonies  supposed  that  the  breaking  out  of  civil  war  was 
only  a  matter  of  a  few  months.  Had  there  been  a  strong, 
wise,  and  prudent  man  at  the  head  of  affairs  at  Boston  the 
rupture  might  have  been  postponed  for  many  years. 

General  Gage,  now  civil  and  military  governor  of  Massa- 
chusetts, was  neither  wise,  nor  prudent,  nor 

'  '  ^  '  Gage,  Gover- 

strong.  He  had  at  his  disposal  a  small  veteran  nor  of  Massa- 
army,  supposed  to  be  adequate  to  cope  with  any  ^^"^^"s,  1774. 
force  likely  to  be  brought  against  it.  As  the  result  proved,  this 
army  was  powerless  in  his  hands  to  do  more  than  maintain 
itself  in  Boston.  Moreover,  Gage  annoyed  the  colonists  by 
petty  reprisals  whose  complete  success  could  have  had  slight 
influence  on  the  impending  crisis,  but  whose  failure  meant 
certain  disaster  and  rebellion. 

In  September,  he  issued  precepts  for  the  election  of  Repre- 
sentatives to  a  General  Court  to  be  held  at     The  Massa- 
Salem  in  October,  1 774.  The  situation  of  affairs    chusetts  ^ 
became  so  threatening  before  that  time  that  he  congress, 
prorogued  the  assembly  before  it  met.     The  ^^74 
Representatives  assembled  at  the  appointed  time,  however, 
formed  themselves  into  a  Provincial  Congress,  and  adjourned 
to  Cambridge.     The  theory  which  they  advanced  was  that 
Gage,  refusing  to  govern  in  accordance  with  the  Charter  of 
Massachusetts,  had  abdicated  his  authority:  there  was  therefore 
no  longer  any  properly  constituted  authority  in  the  province, 
and  the  people  must  look  to  their  own  safety.    This  theory 


70  Constitutional  Opposition^  1760-74.  [Chap. 


rested  on  the  assumption  that  Parliament  had  no  constitutional 
power  to  suspend  the  charter  of  a  colony,  in  whole  or  in  part, 
or  to  interfere  in  any  way  with  the  internal  concerns  of  any 
colony.  The  Provincial  Congress,  acting  for  the  people  of 
Massachusetts,  appointed  a  Committee  of  Safety  to  act  with 
other  committees  as  an  executive.  It  also  appointed  a  Re- 
ceiver-General, or  Colonial  Treasurer,  and  advised  the  town 
authorities  to  pay  the  taxes,  usually  levied  on  the  inhabitants 
of  the  towns,  to  him  and  not  to  the  official  acting  under  the 
authority  of  the  king.  Preparations  for  armed  resistance  were 
now  pushed  forward. 

On  the  other  hand.  Gage  found  himself  almost  isolated  in 
-    .    ,  Boston.    Workingmen  refused  to  work  for  him, 

Lexington  °  ' 

and  Concord,  and  as  the  farmers  refused  to  sell  him  supplies, 
April  19, 1775.  obliged  to  import  food  for  his  army  from 

Halifax.  Alarmed  at  the  hostile  spirit  everywhere  displayed, 
he  determined  to  disarm  the  populace  of  eastern  Massachusetts. 
The  first  attempt  to  seize  arms  ended  in  a  failure,  but  without 
bloodshed.  Later  on  (April  19th,  1775),  he  sent  out  a  strong 
detachment  to  seize  stores  said  to  be  accumulated  at  Concord, 
a  small  town  about  eighteen  miles  from  Boston.  He  had 
expected  to  surprise  the  colonists,  but  the  secret  became  known 
before  the  troops  left  Boston  on  the  night  of  the  eighteenth. 
When  the  soldiers  reached  Lexington,  on  their  way  to  Concord, 
they  discovered  a  small  body  of  militia,  drawn  up  as  if  to 
oppose  them,  which  however  dispersed  in  the  face  of  such  a 
strong  force.  It  is  not  certain  which  party  fired  first,  as  the 
accounts  are  conflicting,  nor  is  it  important;  but  it  is  certain 
that  blood  was  shed  on  Lexington  Common  in  the  early  hours 
of  that  April  morning.  Pressing  onward,  the  soldiers  reached 
Concord  to  find  that  most  of  the  stores  and  munitions  of  war 
had  been  removed  to  some  place  of  greater  security.  They 
destroyed  a  few  barrels  of  flour,  burned  a  cart-wheel  or  two, 
and  disabled  a  few  iron  field-pieces.    While  there,  they  were 


11.]  Lexington  and  Concord^  I775-  7i 

assailed  by  the  militiamen,  and  their  starting  on  the  return 
march  to  Boston  was  the  signal  for  a  general  attack,  which 
continued  until  the  survivors  gained  the  protection  of  the  guns 
of  the  men-of-war  anchored  off  Charlestown.  Instead  of 
returning  home,  the  colonists  encamped  at  Cambridge  and 
began  the  siege  of  Boston.  The  time  for  constitutional  oppo- 
sition was  now  at  an  end.  The  rightfulness  of  the  colonial 
theories  must  be  tested  by  war,  or,  to  use  the  phrase  of  that 
time,  "by  an  appeal  to  God." 


CHAPTER  III. 


REVOLUTION. 

The  fifteen  years  covering  the  events  described  in  the  last 
chapter  (1760-17 75)  were  years  of  growth  in 
nistsln  1775  population  and  in  material  resources  without 
parallel  in  the  colonial  period.  The  total  popu- 
lation increased  from  sixteen  hundred  thousand  in  1760  to 
nearly  two  and  one-half  million  souls  in  1 7  7  5 .  The  slaves  formed 
about  one-fifth  of  this  total  —  numbering  in  1775  nearly  half  a 
million  to  about  four  hundred  thousand  in  1 760.  The  increase 
in  slave  population  was  confined  to  the  South,  and  was  made 
up  largely  of  fresh  importations  from  Africa.  The  total  popu- 
lations of  the  North  and  South  were  nearly  equal,  in  the 
proportion  of  about  thirteen  to  eleven;  but  the  white  popula- 
tion of  the  colonies,  north  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line,  far 
outnumbered  that  of  the  colonies  to  the  southward.  A  further 
examination  of  the  statistics  will  enable  one  better  to  under- 
stand the  greater  capacity  for  resistance  displayed  by  the  North 
in  the  coming  conflict.  For  instance,  the  two  largest  colonies, 
Virginia  and  Massachusetts,  contained  respectively  five  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  and  three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  in- 
habitants. The  white  population  of  the  two  colonies,  however, 
was  in  the  proportion  of  four  to  three  and  one-half.    The  next 

72 


Chap,  hi.]  The  Colonists  in  1775. 


73 


largest  colony  was  Pennsylvania,  containing  three  hundred 
thousand  inhabitants,  nearly  all  white.  In  South  Carolina,  the 
negroes  formed  nearly  two-thirds  of  the  total  of  two  hundred 
thousand.  On  the  other  hand,  Connecticut,  with  about  the 
same  total  population,  contained  hardly  any  blacks,  slave  or 
free.  The  fighting  strength  of  the  colonies  having  large  slave 
populations  was  reduced  nearly  in  the  proportion  of  the  blacks 
to  the  whites. 

Notwithstanding  the  disputes  as  to  the  enforcement  of  the 
trade  laws  and  the  complaints  made  by  the  Material 
colonies,  it  appears  to  be  well  ascertained  that  prosperity, 
commerce  and  trade  had  .flourished  to  an  ex-  ^765-75- 
traordinary  degree.     Manufacturing  had  been  extended,  and, 
although  it  was  still  on  a  small  scale,  the  Revolution  found  the 
colonists  nearly  self-supporting.    Munitions  of  war  were  no 
doubt  lacking,  and  at  first  there  seemed  to  be  no  way  to 
replenish  them  within  the  colonies.     Gunpowder  was  soon 
manufactured  there,  however,  and  a  lead  mine  in  Virginia 
furnished  material  for  bullets  until  the  vein  gave  out  in  1781. 
But  the  greater  part  of  the  supplies  of  war-materials  were  either 
captured  from  the  British  or  procured  from  the  French. 

The  younger  men  among  the  colonists  knew  little  of  actual 
warfare.    But  everywhere  there  were  veterans      capacity  of 
of  the  French  wars,  Washington  and  Prescott,    the  Colonists 
for  instance,  who  soon  infused  a  knowledge  of 
military  methods  into  the  masses  of  raw  recruits.  Experience 
showed  that  time  had  not  diminished  the  fighting  qualities  of 
the  race  which  disputed  the  fields  of  Naseby,  Worcester,  and 
Dunbar.    The  descendants  of  Cavaliers  and  Ironsides  fought 
side  by  side  in  the  American  armies.    With  them  might  often 
have  been  discovered  the  grandchildren  of  the  brave  defenders 
of  Limerick  and  Londonderry.    In  fact,  the  most  venturesome 
of  all  parties  in  the  great  contests  of  the  Stuart  period  had 
either  emigrated  or  had  been  deported  to  the  colonies. 


74 


Revolution. 


[Chap. 


The  Americans  were  peculiarly  fortunate  in  their  leaders. 
Washington  ^  man,  and  as  a  leader  of  men,  George 

Greene,  and  Washington  occupics  an  unique  position  among 
Lafayette.  historic  pcrsouages  of  ancient  and  modern  times. 
Other  men  have  been  more  brilliant  than  he;  but  in  no  other 
man  have  considerable  abilities  been  combined  with  absolute 
honesty  and  steadfastness  of  purpose  as  they  were  in  him. 
Always  serious,  as  if  conscious  of  his  own  greatness,  he  never 
for  one  moment  faltered.  As  a  strategist  and  tactician,  he  was 
not  the  equal  of  some  of  his  subordinates.  It  must  not  be 
supposed,  however,  that  Washington  did  not  know  when  to 
strike  and  how  to  strike  hard.  The  return  of  the  offensive  at 
Trenton  and  the  rescue  of  the  army  at  Monmouth  will  for  ever 
remain  among  the  most  instructive  operations  of  war.  More 
important  for  a  man  in  his  position,  he  was  able  to  wait,  and 
feared  not  the  reproach  of  the  moment.  Cold  and  impassive 
in  bearing,  he  yet  inspired  his  men  with  confidence  and  respect. 
The  greatest  soldier,  as  a  soldier,  on  the  American  side,  was 
Nathanael  Greene.  Born  of  Quaker  stock,  in  the  little  colony 
of  Rhode  Island,  he  taught  himself  the  art  of  war,  buying  and 
borrowing  books  on  that  subj ect  far  and  wide.  Marching  at  the 
head  of  the  Rhode  Island  troops,  at  the  summons  sent  forth 
from  Lexington,  he  at  once  gained  a  position  to  which  neither 
his  age,  his  experience,  nor  the  force  at  his  back  entitled  him. 
Washington,  one  of  the  wealthiest  of  the  Virginia  aristocrats, 
confided  in  the  military  insight  of  this  son  of  the  most  demo- 
cratic colony,  as  he  confided  in  that  of  no  other  man.  In  the 
beginning,  Greene  made  many  mistakes;  but  a  few  lessons  in 
real  fighting,  combined  with  his  theoretical  training,  made  him 
a  very  efficient  commander  of  a  division  or  an  independent 
force.  Another  soldier,  worthy  of  mention  with  Washington 
and  Greene,  was  Anthony  Wayne,  whose  impetuosity  in  attack 
earned  for  him  the  sobriquet  of  **Mad  Anthony."  Un- 
stable in  character  and  ignorant  of  strategy,  Wayne  executed 


in.] 


Military  Leaders. 


75 


orders  in  a  splendid  manner.  Of  another  officer  one  would 
wish  to  speak  here.  In  military  sagacity,  bravery,  and 
enthusiasm  Benedict  Arnold  was  a  great  soldier.  His  faults, 
leading  to  presumption  and  extravagance  in  living,  hindered 
his  advancement,  and  finally  drove  him  to  commit  treason. 
But  as  the  leader  of  a  division  in  a  hardly  contested  fight,  few 
men  have  stood  higher  than  he.  Among  the  foreign  officers 
who  gathered  beneath  the  standard  of  the  young  republic, 
Lafayette  was  first  in  place  and  merit.  Like  Washington,  he 
was  a  man  of  means  and  of  high  social  position.  Although 
very  young  at  this  time,  he  never  failed  to  justify  the  confidence 
which  intrusted  him  with  important  commands.  Another 
foreigner,  Steuben,  a  Prussian  veteran,  who  was  appointed 
Inspector-General,  made  the  Continental  Line  —  as  the  more 
permanent  American  forces  were  termed  —  an  efficient  body 
of  troops.  Many  foreign  officers  were  given  positions  which 
they  could  not  sustain.  Charles  Lee,  a  renegade  Englishman, 
committed  treason  many  times;  and  of  Horatio  Gates,  a  recent 
immigrant  to  Virginia,  it  is  difficult  to  speak  with  calmness. 
He  was  self-sufficient  and  cowardly;  and  he  treated  his  sub- 
ordinates with  a  spirit  of  unfairness  and  jealousy  hardly  to  be 
conceived. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  say  much  concerning  the  British  com- 
manders. Gage's  reputation  was  so  shattered  at  Howe 
Bunker  Hill  that  no  one  has  ever  tried  to  re-    ciinton,  and 
habilitate  it.    Sir  William  Howe,  Gage's  sue-  ^"'•g^^y"^- 
cessor,  commanded  in  the  field  on  that  memorable  occasion, 
and  ever  afterwards  evinced  the  greatest  caution  in  assailing 
works  defended  by  the  colonists.    He  was  also  fond  of  luxury 
and  ease.    At  all  events,  he  threw  away  every  opportunity  of 
crushing  his  enemy  in  1776,  the  most  critical  year  for  the 
colonists.    Burgoyne  might  have  done  well  on  the  open  fields 
of  Europe,  but  in  the  woods  of  northern  New  York  he  was 
surely  out  of  place.    Sir  Henry  Clinton  seems  to  have  had 


76 


Revolution. 


[Chap. 


ability;  but  he,  like  Howe,  was  fond  of  winter-quarters;  so  fond 
of  them,  indeed,  that  Rodney,  who  passed  a  few  weeks  in  New 
York  in  1780,  felt  obliged  to  protest  against  his  inactivity. 
Another  obstacle  to  Clinton's  success  was  the  fact  that  Lord 
George  Germaine,  who,  as  Colonial  Secretary,  managed  the 
war,  had  more  confidence  in  Cornwallis,  Clinton's  subordinate, 
than  he  had  in  the  commander-in-chief.  This  was  in  a  measure 
justifiable,  as  Cornwallis  showed  more  enterprise  than  any 
other  British  general.  But  the  difificulties  of  the  theatre  of  his 
campaigns  were  nearly  insuperable.  The  great  blot  on  the 
military  reputations  of  Clinton  and  Cornwallis  was  the  fortifica- 
tion of  Yorktown.  Each  sought  to  throw  the  blame  for  that 
blunder  on  the  other.  A  careful  consideration  of  all  the  docu- 
ments produced  by  the  two  contestants  points  irresistibly  to 
the  conclusion  that  neither  was  responsible  for  it,  and  that  it 
was  due  to  an  excusable  misunderstanding  of  Clinton's  orders 
by  Cornwallis.  Many  of  the  subordinate  commanders  were 
men  of  ability,  but  the  shadow  of  Lord  George  Germaine 
was  over  the  whole  enterprise.  Had  an  able  man,  like  the 
elder  Pitt,  been  in  control,  many  disasters  would  have  been 
avoided. 

The  caution  so  often  displayed  by  the  British  commanders 
Results  of  combined  with  a  rashness  produced  by 

British  rash-  Contempt  for  their  opponents,  and  ignorance  of 
the  problem  in  hand,  that  is  sometimes  almost 
beyond  belief.  A  few  examples  will  well  illustrate  this  point. 
Gage  sent  one  thousand  men  on  an  expedition,  eighteen  miles 
away  from  the  main  army,  into  a  region  where  twelve  thousand 
armed  soldiers  gathered  about  them  in  less  than  twelve  hours. 
Howe  led  three  thousand  men,  burdened  with  heavy  knap- 
sacks, up  a  steep  hill,  across  fences  and  over  ploughed  land,  on 
an  intensely  hot  day,  against  soldiers  commanded  by  veterans 
and  protected  by  earthworks,  and  in  consequence  lost  one-half 
his  command.    Burgoyne  sent  five  hundred  men  away  from  his 


III.] 


The  Theatre  of  War. 


77 


main  army  into  a  region  whence  the  captors  of  Ticonderoga 
had  issued,  and  within  reach  of  five  times  their  own  number  of 
the  enemy,  commanded  by  one  of  the  defenders  of  Bunker 
Hill.  He  lost  the  original  detachment  and  part  of  another 
sent  to  its  assistance.  Tarleton  attacked  an  American  force 
of  the  same  size  as  his  own,  commanded  by  Daniel  Morgan,  a 
man  of  great  ability,  without  waiting  to  form  his  troops  in  line 
of  battle.  He  lost  nearly  all  of  them,  and  barely  escaped 
capture  himself.  These  are  a  few  examples  of  operations  which 
might  have  been  justified  against  the  inhabitants  of  India,  but 
against  an  enemy  of  British  stock  such  rashness  was  criminal. 
The  rank  and  file  of  the  British  army  was  excellent,  and  the 
terrible  loss  suffered  at  Bunker  Hill  was  as  much  to  their  credit 
as  it  was  to  the  discredit  of  their  chiefs. 

The  theatre  of  war  measured  some  thousand  miles  in  extent 
from  north  to  south  —  from  the  Penobscot  to  the 
Savannah.  It  was  intersected  by  deep  rivers  of^^ar^^^*^^ 
and  large  arms  of  the  sea.  Indeed,  in  place 
of  one  field  of  operations,  there  were  a  dozen.  Thus  the 
Hudson  River  separated  the  Eastern  from  the  Middle  Colonies, 
and  the  Mohawk  divided  the  Hudson  valley  again  into  two 
distinct  geographical  districts.  The  Delaware  River  and  Bay 
bisected  the  Middle  Colonies,  and  Virginia  was  cut  up  into 
many  long  slender  tracts  of  land  by  numerous  large  streams, 
the  James,  the  York,  the  Potomac,  and  others.  These  rivers, 
flowing  generally  from  west  to  east,  made  an  invasion  from 
north  to  south,  or  the  reverse,  a  matter  of  great  difficulty.  In 
the  extreme  south,  the  settlements  on  the  seaboard  were  sepa- 
rated from  those  on  the  mountain  slopes  by  long  stretches  of 
sandy  barren  land,  sparsely  inhabited.  In  the  south,  too,  there 
were  many  rivers  subject  to  sudden  freshets  and  fordable,  even 
at  low  water,  only  at  long  intervals.  It  was  possible  to  seize 
the  towns  on  the  seaboard;  but  it  proved  to  be  exceedingly 
difficult  to  sustain  an  army  in  the  interior.     Everything,  in 


78 


Revolution. 


[Chap. 


short,  so  far  as  natural  conditions  of  the  country  were  con- 
cerned, made  in  favour  of  the  defence. 

Under  these  circumstances,  the  American  army  should  have 

been  followed  wherever  it  went  and  fought  to  the 
stmtegy  Instead  of  making  that  army  the  ob j  ective, 

the  British  plan  of  operations  consisted  in  the 
occupation  of  territory.  A  base  for  the  storage  of  munitions  of 
war,  for  hospitals,  and  for  a  repairing  station  for  the  fleets  was 
necessary.  The  seizure  of  New  York  for  that  purpose  was, 
therefore,  justifiable.  But  that  should  have  been  all.  As  long 
as  Washington,  with  his  poorly-clad  army,  could  keep  the  field, 
the  British  soldiers,  supplied  with  an  abundance  of  everything, 
should  have  followed  him.  Instead  of  so  doing,  no  sooner  was 
one  town  captured,  than  preparations  were  made  to  capture 
another.  Each  place  as  it  was  occupied  required  an  army  to 
maintain  it.  The  rebellion  could  have  been  crushed  only  by 
stamping  out  opposition,  not  by  seizing  land.  It  will  be  well 
to  note  two  leading  errors  of  this  kind.  Boston  was  of  no 
conceivable  use  to  the  British  from  a  military  standpoint.  The 
army  was  necessarily  at  Boston  in  the  beginning  of  the  conflict, 
but  Boston  should  have  been  evacuated  the  moment  it  became 
clear  that  Massachusetts  would  have  the  support  of  the  other 
colonies,  and  this  seems  to  have  been  the  opinion  of  both  Gage 
and  Howe.  Yet  a  British  army  was  blockaded  in  that  town 
for  nearly  eleven  months,  and  the  opportunity  thus  given  the 
other  colonies  to  organize  their  governments  and  armies  was 
well  used.  The  capture  of  Philadelphia  in  1777  was  even 
more  inexcusable.  The  Continental  Congress  held  its  meetings 
at  Philadelphia,  but  that  town  was  not  a  capital  in  the  sense 
that  its  capture  would  disorganize  the  government.  Congress 
was  obliged  to  move  to  some  other  town  —  that  was  all.  But 
the  occupation  of  Philadelphia  withdrew  another  army  from 
the  field,  as  it  was  beyond  supporting-distance  from  New 
York. 


III.] 


British  Strategy. 


79 


The  war  begun  in  New  England  was  recommenced  in  the 
Middle  Colonies.  Before  the  conquest  of  either 
of  those  sections  was  even  fairly  certain,  the      Character  of 

'  tne  contest. 

conquest  of  the  South  was  undertaken.  The 
New  Englanders  proved  themselves  able  to  deal  with  every 
force  the  British  government  placed  in  that  section.  With 
some  help  from  the  other  colonies,  the  people  of  the  Middle 
Colonies  held  the  British  in  one  or  two  seaboard  towns.  In 
the  South,  Cornwallis  seemed  to  be  supreme  for  a  time.  But 
Greene,  with  fifteen  hundred  regulars,  assisted  by  large  bodies 
of  Southern  militiamen,  compelled  the  evacuation  of  the  Caro- 
linas.  Cornwallis  marched  up  and  down  Virginia,  attended 
closely  by  Lafayette,  but  at  the  end  of  the  campaign  he  held 
only  one  town.  Thus  each  section  when  attacked  seemed  able 
to  defend  itself.  Under  these  circumstances,  had  there  been 
no  interference  from  outside,  the  struggle  would  have  con- 
tinued until  the  people  either  of  America  or  of  Great  Britain 
should  become  exhausted.  It  is  by  no  means  certain  that  the 
Americans  would  have  been  the  first  to  succumb.  We  of  the 
present  day  lay  too  much  stress  on  the  evil  effects  of  a  de- 
preciated currency  and  large  debts.  The  social  organization 
of  the  colonies,  outside  of  the  few  large  towns,  was  very  simple. 
The  people  as  a  whole  could  have  got  on  well  enough  had 
there  been  no  currency  at  all.  The  farmers  ploughed,  planted, 
and  reaped  in  comparative  security.  In  the  intervals  of  farm 
work,  they  would  shoulder  their  muskets  and  fight  Burgoyne  or 
Cornwallis,  then  return  home  and  go  on  with  their  labour. 
The  sea-faring  inhabitants  of  the  coast  engaged  in  privateering, 
and  made  a  fair  living  from  that  precarious  calling.  War  con- 
ducted on  these  lines  might  have  continued  indefinitely.  The 
contest,  however,  was  not  to  be  thus  decided.  France,  anxious 
to  regain  her  lost  prestige,  joined  the  colonists  as  soon  as 
Burgoyne's  surrender  made  it  reasonably  certain  that  they  could 
maintain  themselves.    Later,  Spain  and  Holland  took  part  in 


80 


Revolution. 


[Chap. 


the  struggle.  The  navy  of  France  gave  the  supremacy  of  the 
sea  to  the  Allies  for  a  few  weeks  in  1781,  and  Cornwallis  was 
captured  with  his  army.  It  is  correct,  therefore,  to  say  that 
the  aid  afforded  by  France  decided  the  conflict.  It  is,  never- 
theless, by  no  means  certain  that,  had  France  held  aloof,  the 
contest  would  have  had  any  different  termination  —  although 
the  end  would  no  doubt  have  been  postponed. 

The  ^^Siege  of  Boston"  began  on  April  19th,  1775,  and 
''Siege of  Continued  until  March  17th,  1776,  when  the 
Poston,"  1775-  British  abandoned  the  town.  During  that  time, 
from  five  to  ten  thousand  veterans,  commanded 
by  five  generals,  Gage,  Burgoyne,  Howe,  Clinton,  and  Pigott, 
suffered  themselves  to  be  blockaded  in  a  small  town,  often  ill- 
supplied  with  provisions,  fuel  and  forage,  by  a  force  consisting 
of  from  ten  to  twenty  thousand  undisciplined  farmers  and 
mechanics.  This  latter  force  was  poorly  equipped  and  changed 
in  size  and  composition  every  week.  Until  July,  1775,  it  had 
no  commander-in-chief.  This  inactivity  of  the  British  army 
is  easily  explained.  The  town  of  Boston  was  built  upon  a 
peninsula,  which  was  connected  with  the  mainland  by  a  narrow 
strip  of  sand  over  which  the  tide  sometimes  flowed.  This  was 
defended  by  the  besieged.  But  at  the  landward  end,  the 
blockading  force  had  erected  strong  works  which  prevented 
egress  from  the  town  in  that  direction.  In  this  way  it  was 
difficult  for  the  British  army  to  attack  the  colonists.  Further- 
more, the  army  blockading  Boston  was  a  mere  vanguard.  The 
whole  adult  male  population  within  a  radius  of  forty  miles 
formed  the  real  army  besieging  Boston.  Forty  thousand  men 
could  have  been  placed  in  the  field  for  a  few  days*  service  at 
any  time.  Then,  too,  the  topography  of  the  country  greatly 
favoured  the  insurgents.  The  eastern  part  of  Massachusetts 
is  composed  of  relics  of  the  terminal  moraine  of  an  ancient 
glacier  in  the  shape  of  little  oval  hills  called  drumlins  by  the 
geologists.     Three  of  these  little  hills  —  one  of  them  known 


m.] 


Bunker  Hill, 


8i 


as  Bunker  Hill  —  formed  a  peninsula  on  which  the  town  of 
Charlestown  was  built.  This  was  situated  between  the  Charles 
and  Mystic  Rivers  to  the  north  of  Boston.  It  was  connected 
with  the  mainland  by  a  narrow  isthmus  which  might  well  be 
described  as  a  natural  causeway.  South  and  east  of  Boston  was 
another  and  similar neck, "  then  known  as  Dorchester  Heights, 
but  now  forming  South  Boston.  The  road  for  the  British  out  of 
Boston  and  for  the  colonists  into  that  town  lay  in  the  possession 
of  one  or  both  of  these  subordinate  peninsulas.  On  June  i6th, 
reports  reached  the  Colonial  head-quarters  that  Gage  intended 
to  seize  Dorchester  Heights.  The  colonists  determined  to 
divert  him  from  the  execution  of  this  plan  by  seizing  the 
Charlestown  hills.  The  occupation  of  this  position  had  been 
long  in  contemplation,  in  connection  with  batteries  to  be  placed 
on  hills  on  the  mainland,  whose  fire,  converging  in  front  of  the 
works  to  be  erected  on  Bunker  Hill,  would  prevent  a  successful 
assault.  But  the  supporting  forts  could  not  be  supplied  with 
artillery,  and  the  project  had  been  deferred.  •  It  was  now 
decided  to  seize  Bunker  Hill,  and  to  defend  it  as  well  as 
possible.  But  Prescott  and  his  men,  marching  in  the  darkness 
of  the  night  of  June  16-17,  passed  Bunker  Hill  and  threw  up 
a  redoubt  on  Breed's  Hill,  nearer  Boston.  The  conflict  is 
always  known,  however,  as  the  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill.  Instead 
of  using  his  preponderance  in  shipping  to  attack  the  Americans 
from  the  rear.  Gage  ordered  an  assault  in  front.  Prescott  and 
Stark,  with  some  three  thousand  men,  defended  the  redoubt 
and  connecting  lines.  Howe,  Clinton,  and  Pigott  led  five 
thousand  men  to  the  attack.  Twice  that  splendid  force 
marched  up  the  hill  to  be  turned  back  by  a  musketry  fire. 
The  third  assault  succeeded,  mainly  because  the  American 
ammunition  was  exhausted.  The  loss  of  from  one  thousand  to 
fifteen  hundred  of  their  men  attests  the  gallantry  of  the  British 
soldiers.  Few  more  splendid  actions  are  recorded  in  history. 
But  the  comparative  smallness  of  the  colonial  loss,  four  hundred 
C.  A.  6 


82 


Revolution, 


tCHAP. 


and  forty-one  —  most  of  which  was  suffered  during  the  hasty 
retreat —  shows  the  nature  of  the  task  to  which  Gage  had  set  his 
men.  The  Americans  were  beaten  at  Bunker  Hill  and  driven 
from  the  field ;  but  the  gallant  defence  they  had  made  gave 
them  a  feeling  of  confidence  in  themselves  of  the  greatest 
importance  in  the  ensuing  campaigns. 

The  Second  Continental  Congress  met  at  Philadelphia, 
Second  Con-  May,  1 775-  It  continued  in  existence  until 
tinentai  Con-  the  Articles  of  Confederation  went  into  opera- 
gress,  1775.  ^.^^  in  1 78 1.  At  first  it  was  only  a  meeting  of 
the  radical  leaders  in  the  several  colonies.  It  soon  acquired 
supreme  power  and  exercised  the  functions  of  a  sovereign. 

It  adopted  the  army  blockading  Boston  as  its  own,  and 
...  undertook  the  defence  of  Massachusetts  as  a 

The  War 

becomes  gen-  national  affair.  Political  necessity  required  a 
erai,  June,  1775.  gouthcm  man  to  lead  the  army,  and  George 
Washington,  a  delegate  from  Virginia,  was  appointed  Com- 
mander-in-chief (June,  1775),  the  actual  commanders  in  the 
field  being  commissioned  as  major  and  brigadier-generals. 
Washington's  place  in  the  Virginia  delegation  was  filled  by  the 
election  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  a  much  younger  man,  but  already 
prominent  from  the  boldness  of  his  written  opinions.  Congress 
now  issued  a  "  Declaration  setting  forth  the  Reasons  for  Taking 
up  Arms."  Later,  another  petition  was  sent  to  the  king, 
praying  him,  as  "constitutional  arbiter"  between  the  several 
parts  of  the  Empire,  to  use  his  veto  power  to  protect  his  loyal 
American  subjects  from  the  oppression  of  his  subjects  living  in 
England,  exercised  in  the  form  of  acts  of  Parliament.  The 
only  answer  vouchsafed  to  this  "Olive  Branch"  petition  was  a 
proclamation  against  traitors  and  rebels.  In  this  manner  the 
king  drove  more  persons  to  rebellion  than  all  the  radical 
leaders  in  the  colonies  had  done  in  the  whole  course  of  the 
dispute.  Until  that  time,  hundreds  of  thousands  of  persons, 
who  denied  the  legislative  power  of  Parliament,  were  strong  in 


ra.] 


Siege  of  Boston. 


83 


their  loyalty  to  the  king;  soon  they  were  to  be  ready  for  inde- 
pendence. 

Washington  took  command  of  the  American  army  at 
Cambridge   on   July  3rd,    i77S-     He   soon  Evacuation 
brought  some  semblance  of  order  out  of  the    of  Boston, 
military  chaos  which  then  prevailed.     With  ^^^^^'^776. 
an  army  constantly  fluctuating  in  numbers,  without  heavy 
ordnance,  and  for  weeks  at  a  time  without  powder,  he  presented 
a  firm  front  to  the  British.    The  magazines  of  Ticonderoga  and 
Crown  Point,  seized  in  May,  1775,  supplied  ordnance  as  soon 
as  the  snow  of  the  next  winter  made  transportation  possible. 
The  Massachusetts  navy  provided  powder,  the  spoil  of  an 
ordnance  vessel  captured  from  the  British.    In  March,  1776, 
Washington  was  able  to  take  the  offensive.    He  seized  Dor- 
chester Heights  and  compelled  the  evacuation  of  Boston.  In 
the  interim,  an  invasion  of  Canada,  led  by  Montgomery  and 
Benedict  Arnold,  had  proved  a  complete  failure. 

The  first  half  of  the  year  1776  was,  in  some  respects,  the 
most  important  in  the  history  of  the  country.  Growth 
Then  it  was  decided  to  break  loose  from  the  towards 
mother  land  and  to  establish  a  new  nation  upon  »"«iepe"de"ce. 
the  American  soil.  Many  English  writers,  from  the  epoch  of 
the  Revolution  to  the  present  day,  have  conceived  themselves 
able  to  trace  the  independence  of  the  United  States  back  to  the 
first  settlement  of  the  older  colonies.  This  is  true  in  the  sense 
that  the  causes  which  ultimately  brought  about  independence 
may  be  discovered  in  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
It  is  not  true,  however,  that  any  considerable  body  of  colonists 
expected  or  desired  independence  earlier  than  the  year  1776. 
Washington  stated  that  in  July,  1775,  when  he  took  command 
of  the  army,  he  "abhorred"  the  idea  of  independence.  No 
doubt  he  expressed  the  feeling  of  the  great  mass  of  the  people 
at  that  time.  The  modern  x^merican  student,  so  far  from 
being  able  to  discern  any  conscious  growth  towards  independ- 

6—2 


84 


Revolution. 


[Chap. 


ence,  is  impressed  by  the  great  reluctance  with  which  the  people 
approached  the  final  separation.  The  contemptuous  rejection 
of  the  Olive  Branch  "  petition  converted  many.  Among  other 
important  steps  in  bringing  about  a  change  of  sentiment,  was  the 
necessity  for  making  new  provisions  for  the  local  governments. 
As  the  contest  widened,  one  colony  after  another  found 
itself  without  any  government.  In  some  cases 
conatit^ficms.  attempt  of  the  king's  representative  to  pre- 

vent assistance  being  sent  to  Massachusetts 
brought  on  the  conflict.  In  other  cases,  the  endeavour  to 
settle  some  local  grievance  by  force  compelled  the  governor's 
abdication.  In  Massachusetts,  a  Provincial  Congress,  repre- 
senting the  people,  assumed  power  in  the  beginning.  After- 
wards, the  Charter  government  was  restored  without  a  governor 
—  the  Council  performing  many  of  the  executive  functions. 
Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island  continued  under  their  seven- 
teenth century  charters,  and  New  Hampshire  was  the  only 
New  England  colony  which  was  governed  as  a  Royal  Prov- 
ince. The  departure  of  the  governor  left  affairs  in  a  state 
of  disorder  in  that  province.  The  people  of  New  Hampshire 
were  obliged  to  make  some  provision  for  government  in  order 
to  protect  themselves  and  to  aid  Massachusetts.  They  ap- 
plied to  the  Continental  Congress  for  advice,  and,  in  con- 
formity to  its  suggestion,  established  (Jan.  1776)  a  temporary 
organization  "  to  continue  only  during  the  present  unhappy 
differences  with  Great  Britain."  In  May,  1776,  every  colony 
was  in  open  revolt.  Congress  then  advised  each  colony  to 
assume  such  form  of  government  as  should  seem  best.  The 
first  colony  to  act  under  this  vote  was  Virginia,  which  had 
been  governed  for  some  time  by  a  "Convention,"  elected  by 
the  people.  The  first  constitution  of  Virginia,  adopted  in 
June,  1776,  is  of  considerable  historical  interest.  The  Bill  of 
Rights  prefixed  to  it  was  the  work  of  George  Mason.  It  con- 
tained an  admirable  exposition  of  the  American  theory  of 


III.] 


The  State  Constitutions. 


85 


government,  only  equalled  in  that  respect  by  the  Declaration 
of  Independence  and  by  the  Bill  of  Rights,  drawn  up  by  John 
Adams  and  adopted  by  Massachusetts  in  1780.  The  Virginia 
Constitution  also  contained  a  Declaration  of  Independence, 
and  a  summary  of  the  causes  which  led  to  this  action,  from  the 
pen  of  Thomas  Jefferson.  It  bears  a  close  resemblance  to  the 
great  declaration,  and  was  formulated  only  a  few  weeks  earlier. 
It  is  important  to  notice  that  this  action  of  New  Hampshire 
and  Virginia  was  taken,  as  above  stated,  in  conformity  with  the 
advice  of  the  Continental  Congress. 

No  one  can  read  the  State  papers  of  the  revolutionary 
period  without  being  impressed  with  the  consti- 
tutional knowledge  and  literary  skill  of  their  clT^/J  w.. 
authors.  Yet  it  well  may  be  doubted  if,  all 
put  together,  they  exerted  so  much  influence  in  bringing  the 
people  to  an  acquiescence  in  the  policy  of  independence  as 
was  exerted  by  one  small  pamphlet,  Thomas  Paine 's  Common 
Sense.  It  is  fortunate  that  our  task  does  not  require  a  de- 
scription of  Paine 's  personal  character.  He  came  to  America, 
was  recognized  as  a  man  of  remarkable  literary  power,  and  was 
encouraged  by  Franklin  and  Jefferson,  who  may  have  been 
unaware  of  the  moral  contamination  which  lurked  in  his 
neighbourhood.  Certainly,  he  was  a  friend  to  liberty.  In 
January,  1776,  he  published,  anonymously,  a  pamphlet  showing 
in  simple  language  that  "common  sense  "  dictated  independ- 
ence. Among  other  reasons  which  he  gave,  was  the  improb- 
ability of  foreign  nations  interfering  in  the  dispute  so  long  as 
the  Americans  acknowledged  allegiance  to  the  British  king. 
The  essay  met  with  great  favour.  It  was  read  and  debated  in 
smithy  and  shop,  and  converted  thousands  of  the  people. 

Virginia  now  again  took  the  lead,  and  directed  her  delegates 
in  Congress  to  propose  a  declaration  of  inde-  Declaration 
pendence.    The  motion  was  made  in  Congress    of  independ- 
by  Richard  Henry  Lee,  the  chairman  of  the 


86 


Revolution. 


[Chap. 


Virginia  delegation,  on  June  17th,  1776.  It  was  seconded  by 
John  Adams  of  Massachusetts.  As  many  delegates  were  not 
instructed  in  the  matter  or,  indeed,  united  in  the  approval  of 
the  proposal,  the  discussion  of  the  motion  was  postponed  for 
two  weeks.  To  save  time,  however,  a  committee  consisting  of 
Jefferson,  Franklin,  John  Adams,  and  two  more,  was  appointed 
to  prepare  a  declaration  for  discussion  in  case  the  motion 
should  be  adopted.  This  committee  intrusted  the  drafting  of 
the  document  to  Jefferson,  while  it  fell  to  John  Adams  to 
defend  the  motion  on  the  floor  of  Congress.  The  ablest  man 
on  the  other  side  was  John  Dickinson,  a  most  patriotic  and 
high-minded  statesman.  As  the  debates  of  Congress  were 
secret  and  no  notes  of  this  disputation  were  ever  published,  we 
have  slight  knowledge  of  the  arguments  of  the  two  champions. 
After  more  delay,  and  after  a  good  deal  of  concession  on  both 
sides,  the  motion  was  finally  carried  on  July  2nd,  1776.  Two 
days  later,  on  July  4,  1776,  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
was  adopted,  though  somewhat  toned  down  and  in  a  few  cases 
materially  altered  from  Jefferson's  original  draft.  Some  weeks 
afterwards,  it  was  signed  by  the  members  of  Congress  present 
at  the  time  of  signing.  This  was  done  probably  to  protect 
Hancock,  the  presiding  officer  of  Congress,  who  had  attested 
the  first  copies  of  the  document  sent  out  on  July  sth.  The 
Declaration  of  Independence,  apart  from  its  arraignment  of 
the  king,  contains  the  clearest  definition  of  the  theory  of 
democratic  government  in  existence.  It  is,  therefore,  of  inter- 
est not  to  Americans  alone,  but  to  all  civilized  peoples.  The 
Declaration  contained  in  a  concise  form  the  theory  of  govern- 
ment commonly  held  by  the  people  of  the  United  States.  It 
was  the  result  of  a  long  historical  development,  and  was  of 
American  and  English  parentage.  The  ideas  of  Locke  and 
Hooker  can  be  seen  in  every  sentence  of  the  theoretical  part. 
In  fact,  so  impregnated  was  Jefferson  with  the  language  of 
Locke's  essay,  that,  in  some  cases,  he  repeats  the  very  words 


III.]  Declaration  of  Independence,  87 

of  the  great  philosopher.  In  his  Ancient  Laws,  Sir  Henry 
Maine  makes  the  curious  statement,  which  has  been  repeated 
by  later  and  less  distinguished  writers,  that,  in  their  great 
Declaration,  the  American  jurists  combined  the  French  idea  of 
equality  with  the  more  familiar  English  doctrine,  that  all  men 
are  born  free.  It  will  be  interesting  for  the  student  to  turn  to 
the  Declaration  itself^  and  observe  that  there  is  no  statement  in 
that  document  to  the  effect  that  men  are  born  free;  the  words 
are,  "all  men  are  created  equal."  Furthermore,  the  doctrine 
of  natural  equality  is  to  be  found  in  Hooker's  Ecclesiastical 
Polity  and  in  Locke's  Essay  on  Government,  Later,  at  the 
outbreak  of  the  French  Revolution,  Jefferson  was  United 
States  Minister  at  Paris.  He  returned  to  America  in  1790, 
greatly  influenced  by  French  ideas.  But  there  is  not  the  least 
evidence  that  in  1776  he  knew  anything  of  French  political 
writers,  except  Montesquieu,  and  in  the  latter' s  book  there  is 
no  statement  of  the  natural  equality  of  man.  The  Americans 
received  valuable  material  aid  from  France.  Their  theories 
they  inherited  from  their  fathers,  as  their  portion  of  the 
common  heritage  of  the  English  race. 

The  seat  of  war  was  now  shifted  to  the  Middle  States.  In 
the  summer  of  1776,  Sir  William  Howe,  the  new 
commander-in-chief,  entered  New  York  harbour  The  Hessians, 
with  a  powerful  army,  convoyed  by  a  strong  fleet 
under  the  command  of  Admiral  Lord  Howe.  A  large  portion 
of  the  new  troops  were  German  veterans  hired  from  their 
masters,  the  Landgrave  of  Hesse-Cassel,  the  Duke  of  Brunswick, 
and  some  others.  The  "  dirty  selfishness  "  of  these  men,  as 
Frederick  the  Great  termed  it,  is  beneath  contempt,  and  almost 
beyond  belief,  were  it  not  so  well  authenticated.  These  leased 
soldiers,  for  it  would  be  unfair  to  call  those  mercenaries  who 
had  not  the  option  to  go  or  stay,  numbered,  including  all 
who  came  to  America,  some  thirty  thousand  men.  About 

1  Appendix  II. 


88 


Revolution, 


[Chap. 


eighteen  thousand  arrived  in  1776,  mostly  from  Hesse-Cassel. 
For  this  reason,  the  whole  body  was  known  to  the  Americans 
under  the  generic  term  of  Hessians.  To  the  English  govern- 
ment there  seemed  nothing  incongruous  in  hiring  these  men. 
The  British  king  was  a  German  prince  —  although  he  himself 
had  been  born  in  England.  In  the  wars  which  Great  Britain 
had  waged  on  the  Continent  it  had  been  customary  to  hire  the 
Germans,  in  one  way  or  another,  to  fight  Britain's  battles.  The 
only  new  circumstance  in  this  case  wAs  the  fact  that  these 
foreign  soldiers  were  now  employed  to  kill  English  people  who 
happened  to  live  beyond  the  ocean.  The  opposition  in  Par- 
liament remonstrated  against  the  business  for  this  reason,  but 
their  remonstrance  was  unavailing.  The  great  mass  of  English- 
men seem  to  have  viewed  with  rejoicing  the  acquisition  of 
a  force  which  they  were  led  to  believe  was  both  cheap  and 
efficient.  In  reality,  the  employment  of  these  soldiers  was  one 
of  the  greatest  mistakes  made  by  the  government.  It  aroused 
in  the  breasts  of  many  lukewarm  Americans  a  desire  for  inde- 
pendence ;  it  induced  others  to  acquiesce  in  the  Declaration 
of  Independence;  and  it  justified,  in  the  eyes  of  many  men, 
the  alliance  with  France  and  Spain.  The  fate  of  these  poor 
"Hessian"  soldiers  was  indeed  a  hard  one.  Torn  from  their 
firesides  and  families,  they  were  sent  to  the  conquest  of  a 
savage  people  —  for  so  most  of  them  regarded  the  Americans. 
They  found  the  art  of  war  quite  undeveloped  in  many  re- 
spects in  America.  In  Europe,  where  the  father  of  this  same 
Landgrave  of  Hesse-Cassel  had  in  one  campaign  loaned  six 
thousand  soldiers  to  either  side,  the  amenities  of  war  were 
fully  developed.  There  was  as  little  shooting  as  possible, 
and  one  might  almost  imagine  the  two  pickets  of  the  op- 
posing forces  calmly  smoking  their  pipes  together  and  com- 
municating the  latest  news  from  home.  With  the  Americans 
the  case  was  different.  They  were  fighting  for  everything  that 
was  dear  to  them.    Whenever  they  had  a  good  opportunity 


III.] 


The  Hessians. 


89 


to  shoot  an  opponent,  they  shot  him.  The  American  states- 
men, however,  endeavoured  to  induce  the  "Hessians"  to 
desert.  In  1776,  Congress  passed  a  resolution,  drafted  by 
Jefferson,  Franklin,  and  John  Adams,  offering  land  in  amounts 
of  one  thousand  acres  to  every  Hessian  colonel,  with  suitable 
amounts  to  other  officers,  and  one  hundred  acres  to  every 
private  who  should  desert.  Before  the  end  of  the  war,  the 
Hessians  and  the  Americans  understood  each  other  well,  and 
desertions  seem  to  have  been  frequent.  The  most  attractive 
person  in  this  throng  was  the  Baroness  Riedesel,  the  young 
wife  of  one  of  the  Hessian  generals.  She  is  chiefly  memorable 
for  a  charming  journal  which  she  kept,  and  which  gives  us 
glimpses  of  American  life  as  viewed  by  an  outsider.  On  her 
way  to  America,  she  heard  a  story  of  the  indecent  and  brutal 
treatment  of  two  women  by  the  Boston  mob.  This  tale,  given 
on  hearsay  evidence,  was  incorporated  by  Lord  Mahon  in  his 
history,  and  has  been  repeated  by  later  and  generally  fairer 
writers.  There  is  not  the  slightest  hint  as  to  any  such  occur- 
rence in  any  newspaper  of  that  time,  in  the  papers  of  the  very 
respectable  family  to  which  the  alleged  victims  belonged,  nor 
in  any  document  of  that  period  which  has  come  to  light.  The 
Boston  rabble  did  many  things  which  might  well  have  been  left 
undone,  but  there  is  no  recorded  instance  of  their  behaving 
indecently  to  any  woman.  The  story  was  probably  told  to  the 
credulous  German  woman  by  some  person  as  ill-disposed  to 
her  as  to  the  Americans.  International  comity,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  ties  of  blood,  might  well  forbid  the  relating  of  such 
discreditable  anecdotes,  except  when  well  attested. 

Washington  gathered  to  the  defence  of  New  York  about 
one-half  as  many  men  as  Howe  could  place  in 
the  field.    Yet  the  latter  general  by  his  supine-    paTgn  of^^76 
ness  allowed  the  Americans  to  escape  from  Long 
Island,  and  then  from  Manhattan  Island,  on  the  southern  end 
of  which  New  York  City  then  stood.    Still  hesitating,  Howe 


90 


Revolution, 


[Chap. 


occupied  the  whole  of  the  following  autumn  and  early  winter  in 
driving  one  part  of  the  American  army  up  the  Hudson,  and 
the  other  part  across  the  Delaware.  Then,  instead  of  following 
up  Washington's  diminishing  and  poorly-equipped  forces,  he 
placed  his  fine  army  in  winter-quarters  extending  from  the 
Hudson  to  the  Delaware,  a  distance  in  a  straight  line  of  some 
seventy-five  miles!  This  was  Washington's  opportunity,  and 
well  he  improved  it. 

Crossing  the  Delaware  on  Christmas  night,  1776,  with  about 

twenty-four  hundred  men,  he  marched  through 
of^Trenton"^^     storm  and  cold  to  Trenton.    At  daybreak  he 

surprised  the  Hessian  detachment  stationed 
there,  capturing  nearly  one  thousand  men  —  one  hundred  and 
fifty  more  making  good  their  escape.  This  sudden  and  deci- 
sive return  of  the  offensive  saved  the  Revolution,  which,  at  that 
moment,  seemed  about  to  perish  from  inanition.  Cornwallis, 
with  a  strong  force,  was  immediately  sent  against  the  Americans. 
Outwitting  him,  Washington  fought  a  sharp  action  at  Princeton 
and  gained  the  high  lands  of  New  Jersey.  His  presence  there 
compelled  Howe  to  abandon  his  distant  outposts  and  to  keep 
his  army  within  supporting  distance  from  New  York. 

The  British  plan  of  campaign  for  1777  was  quite  elaborate 
Plan  of  the      —  including  two  distinct  movements,  one  for  the 
Campaign  of       Capture  of  Philadelphia,  and  the  other  for  the  oc- 

cupation  of  the  line  of  Lake  Champlain  and  the 
Hudson  River,  thus  separating  New  England  from  the  other 
colonies.  The  former  operation  was  successfully  carried  out. 
Howe,  commanding  in  person,  carried  a  strong  army  on  ship- 
board to  the  Chesapeake,  and  thus  approached  Philadelphia 
in  the  rear  of  its  defences.  Washington  opposed  him  at  the 
crossing  of  Brandywine  Creek,  which  empties  into  Delaware 
Bay  some  distance  below  Philadelphia;  but  his  position  was 
turned  and  he  was  obliged  to  abandon  the  city  to  the  British. 
Later,  when  a  good  opportunity  offered  itself,  he  surprised  a 


III.] 


Campaign  of  1777. 


91 


large  detachment  of  the  British  army  at  Germantown ;  but  here 
again,  owing  mainly  to  misfortune,  he  was  unsuccessful.  Re- 
tiring up  the  Schuylkill  River  to  Valley  Forge,  a  strong  position 
among  the  hills,  the  American  army  passed  a  terrible  winter. 
But  there  they  were  drilled  by  Steuben  and  his  subordinates 
until  the  Continental  Line  became  an  admirable  force. 

The  execution  of  the  other  portion  of  the  campaign  was 
intrusted  to  Burgoyne.  It  had  been  intended 
that  Howe  should  co-operate  with  him  from  New  c^pli'gn.^  ^ 
York.  The  story  is  related,  however,  that  the 
orders  to  that  effect  reached  New  York  too  late,  owing  to  Lord 
George  Germaine  having  placed  them  in  a  pigeon-hole  that  he 
might  attend  a  garden-party.  At  all  events,  Howe  went  south, 
leaving  Clinton  at  New  York  with  too  weak  a  force  to  succour 
Burgoyne.  At  the  other  end  of  the  line  Sir  Guy  Carleton,  the 
British  commander  in  Canada,  felt  aggrieved  at  not  having 
command  of  this  expedition,  and  placed  many  obstacles  in 
Burgoyne 's  way.  That  general,  after  crossing  the  Canadian 
boundary,  enjoyed  a  brief  period  of  success.  Driving  the 
Americans  under  St  Clair  before  him,  he  reached  the  portage 
between  Lakes  Champlain  and  George  and  the  Hudson  River 
without  serious  opposition.  From  that  point  the  expedition 
,vas  one  series  of  misfortunes.  Burgoyne  occupied  fifty  days  in 
marching  seventy  miles  through  the  wilderness,  the  delay  giving 
the  New  Englanders  time  to  drop  their  ploughs,  seize  their 
muskets,  and  march  to  the  Hudson.  The  British  reached  the 
river  with  diminished  supplies.  To  replenish  them  in  part  and, 
also,  to  secure  mounts  for  his  cavalrymen,  he  sent  five  hundred 
dismounted  German  dragoons  with  a  few  loyalists  and  some 
Indians  to  Bennington,  not  far  toward  the  east.  It  is  probable 
that  Burgoyne  was  led  into  this  error  by  too  implicit  a  reliance 
on  a  statement  to  the  effect  that  numerous  loyalists  were 
waiting  in  the  vicinity  of  Bennington  for  the  arrival  of  the 
king's  troops  in  order  to  show  their  loyalty.    Indeed,  it  seems 


92 


Revolution. 


[Chap. 


that  Stark's  shirt-sleeved  farmers  were  at  first  mistaken  for  the 
promised  loyalists.  This  was  not  the  only  time  in  the  war  that 
faith  in  the  existence  of  loyalists  cost  the  British  heavy  losses. 

A  large  minority,  indeed,  according  to  some 
Loyalists  writers,  a  majority  of  the  people,  was  still  loyal 

to  the  king — in  a  half-hearted  sort  of  way. 
These  were,  for  the  most  part,  men  of  moderate  views,  who 
preferred  remaining  neutral  to  fighting  on  either  side.  When 
forced  to  take  sides,  they  probably  took  part  against  the 
king,  as  their  radical  neighbours  were  nearer  at  hand  and 
better  able  to  annoy  them  than  were  the  king's  forces.  On 
the  other  hand,  if  the  king  had  shown  his  power  to  protect 
them,  they  would  have  been  on  his  side.  Of  course  there  were 
many  loyalists  who  devoted  their  lives  and  their  fortunes  to 
the  king's  cause;  but  the  great  mass  of  that  party  simply  desired 
to  be  let  alone.  The  first  detachment  sent  by  Burgoyne  was 
captured  by  Stark  and  his  men  from  western  Massachusetts 
and  New  Hampshire  (Aug.  i6,  1777),  who  sent  a  relieving 
force  staggering  back  to  the  main  army.  There  is  something 
almost  pitiable  in  the  fate  of  these  heavy-armed  German  dis- 
mounted dragoons  thus  sent  to  their  death  in  a  wilderness. 
At  about  the  same  time,  another  disaster  befell  Burgoyne  on 
his  other  flank. 

With  a  strong  body  of  light-armed  troops,  St  Leger  marched 

from  Canada  to  co-operate  with  Burgoyne  by  the 
St  Leger's  q£  j^j^^  Ontario  and  the  Mohawk  River. 

Campaign.  ^ 

Guarding  the  portage  between  the  lake  and  the 
river  stood  Fort  Stanwix  or  Schuyler,  near  the  site  of  the  present 
town  of  Rome.  St  Leger  laid  siege  to  this  post,  and  defeated 
a  relieving  force  commanded  by  the  gallant  Herkimer  at  Oris- 
kany  (Aug.  6,  1777) ;  but  on  hearing  that  Arnold  with  a  strong 
detachment  was  marching  against  him,  St  Leger  abandoned 
the  siege,  and  retreated  in  all  haste  to  Canada.  These  two 
disasters  deprived  Burgoyne  of  his  light  troops  and  cavalry. 


III.] 


Burgoyne's  Campaign, 


93 


Passing  the  Hudson,  he  pushed  on  and,  advancing  in  three 
columns  through  a  wilderness,  he  was  suddenly  ^^^^ 
attacked  with  great  fury  by  the  Americans,  led  toga  Conven- 
by  Arnold  and  Morgan,  at  a  clearing  known  as 
Freeman's  Farm  on  the  afternoon  of  September  19.  Before  he 
could  get  his  army  well  in  hand,  the  Americans  retired  to  the 
main  army  under  Gates.  This  general  had  superseded  Schuyler, 
who  was  not  trusted  by  the  New  Englanders.  Gates  had 
placed  his  army  across  the  road,  on  Bemis  Heights,  where  the 
hills  come  close  to  the  river-bank.  Burgoyne  also  placed  his 
army  in  intrenchments.  On  October  7th  a  sharp  battle  was 
fought.  The  Americans,  led  by  Arnold,  who  meantime  had 
been  dismissed  from  his  command  by  Gates,  penetrated  the 
centre  of  the  British  line.  That  night  Burgoyne  retreated  to 
Saratoga,  but  when  he  again  reached  the  river  he  found  a 
strong  body  of  Americans  posted  on  the  other  bank.  Soon 
the  left  of  the  American  line  was  extended  and  there  was  no 
alternative  save  surrender.  On  October  17th  (1777)  the  British 
laid  down  their  arms  and  began  their  march  to  Boston.  It 
would  be  well  if  the  student  could  stop  here.  The  Saratoga 
Convention  stipulated  that  the  British  soldiers  should  embark 
on  transports  to  be  provided  by  their  government,  and  should 
not  serve  again  in  North  America  until  exchanged.  Weakness 
or  good-nature  had  induced  Gates  to  grant  these  terms.  The 
convention  was  not  carried  out  in  good  faith  by  either  party 
to  it.  The  public  property  was  not  given  up  by  the  British, 
and  a  demand  for  a  descriptive  list  of  the  prisoners  drew  from 
Burgoyne  some  ill-advised  words,  to  the  effect  that  the  con- 
vention had  been  broken  by  the  Americans.  These  things, 
trifling  in  themselves,  may  be  held,  in  some  slight  degree,  to 
justify  the  Continental  Congress  in  its  refusal  to  ratify  the 
convention.  The  real  reason,  however,  for  that  action  seems 
to  have  been  a  natural  fear  on  the  part  of  the  French  govern- 
ment lest  the  "convention  troops"  should  be  used  against 


94 


Revolution. 


[Chap. 


them  in  Europe.  On  moral  grounds  this  action  of  Congress 
cannot  be  defended,  but  legally  it  was  justifiable. 

The  French  monarchy  now  decided  to  take  an  active  part 
The  French      against  England  in  alliance  with  the  Americans. 
Alliance,  Jan.-     In  1 776,  Silas  Deanc,  Arthur  Lee,  and  Benjamin 
Feb.  1778.  Franklin  arrived  in  Paris  as  commissioners  from 

the  United  States.  The  French  government,  welcoming  a 
chance  to  injure  Great  Britain,  lent  the  Americans  money 
and  sold  them  arms,  munitions  of  war,  and  other  military  equip- 
ment. The  transaction  was  somewhat  clumsily  disguised  under 
the  form  of  a  business  negotiation  with  a  supposed  Spanish 
mercantile  firm  whose  only  partner  was  Beaumarchais,  the  play- 
wright. The  plot  was  suspected  by  Lord  Stormont,  then  British 
Ambassador  at  Paris,  and  the  French  government  felt  obliged 
to  elude  his  vigilance  by  placing  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  trans- 
portation of  these  supplies  from  the  French  arsenals  to  America. 
As  an  offset  to  the  extra  expense  thus  incurred,  a  million  francs 
was  placed  in  Beaumarchais' s  hands.  The  supplies  procured 
in  this  roundabout  way  were  of  the  greatest  assistance  to  the 
Americans.  Further  than  this,  the  French  seemed  unwilling 
to  go.  fiut  when  the  great  victory  at  Saratoga  became  known 
at  Paris,  all  obstacles  were  removed.  France  recognized  the 
independence  of  the  United  States,  and  (1778)  concluded  with 
the  Americans  treaties  of  commerce  and  of  eventual  alliance 
in  case  Great  Britain  should  begin  hostilities  against  her  old 
rival.  The  announcement  of  her  action  was  communicated 
to  the  British  government  in  a  manner  inviting  war,  and 
Great  Britain  at  once  declared  war  against  France.  Lord 
Chatham  proposed  to  withdraw  the  armies  from  America,  win 
back  the  affection  of  the  Americans,  and  together  combat  the 
Bourbon  power.  It  is  possible  that  in  his  hands  such  a  policy 
might  have  succeeded.  The  king,  however,  refused  to  appoint 
him  prime  minister,  suggesting  that,  perhaps,  he  might  take 
ofi&ce  under  Lord  North !    That  minister  proposed  to  abandon 


III.]         The  French  Alliance  and  Monmouth. 


nearly  all  the  points  in  dispute,  provided  the  Americans  would 
yield  on  the  question  of  independence.  But  the  concessions 
came  too  late.  The  war  continued,  but  from  this  time  on,  the 
British  assumed  the  defensive  in  the  North. 

Clinton,  Howe's  successor,  decided  to  abandon  Phila- 
delphia and  to  march  overland  to  New  York.      „    ,  , 

^  Battle  of 

Washington,  on  his  part,  determined  to  attack  Monmouth, 
him  while  on  the  way.  At  Monmouth  the  two 
armies  came  together.  The  destined  commander  of  the 
American  advance  was  Lafayette,  but  Washington  against  his 
will  was  obliged  to  confide  it  to  Charles  Lee,  who  had  recently 
returned  from  captivity,  and  claimed  it  by  right  of  seniority. 
Lee  lost  control  of  his  men,  withdrew  them  in  disorder,  and  a 
disaster  seemed  imminent,  when  Washington  reached  the  front. 
Sending  Lee  to  the  rear  in  disgrace,  he  re-established  the 
battle.  The  British  held  the  field,  but  retired  during  the  night. 
This  was  the  last  serious  engagement  in  the  North.  The  British 
sent  marauding  expeditions  along  the  coast,  which  only  served 
uselessly  to  exasperate  the  inhabitants,  and  there  were  a  few 
partial  engagements,  and  one  brilliant  affair,  the  assault  of 
Stony  Point,  by  the  Light  Infantry  under  Anthony  Wayne. 
The  treason  of  Benedict  Arnold,  however,  nearly  brought 
disaster  to  the  American  cause,  and  resulted  in  the  lamentable 
death  of  an  agreeable  young  man,  John  Andre. 

Benedict  Arnold,  the  hero  of  Quebec  and  Saratoga,  was 
now  in  command  of  the  most  important  magazine  Arnold  and 
and  stronghold  on  the  American  side,  West  Point  Andre,  1779. 
on  the  Hudson  River.  Burdened  with  debt  and  disaffected  at 
the  ungenerous  treatment  he  had  received  at  the  hands  of  the 
Congress,  Arnold  had  for  some  time  meditated  treason.  He 
asked  for  the  command  of  West  Point  that  he  might  surrender 
something  of  value.  Dishonourable  himself,  he  was  afraid  to 
trust  others,  and  demanded  a  personal  interview  with  Clinton's 
agent,  his  aide-de-camp  Major  Andr^.    The  interview,  begun 


96 


Revolution, 


[Chap. 


outside  the  American  lines,  was  concluded  within  them,  whither 
Andr^,  unsuspecting  danger,  had  been  led  by  Arnold.  He 
passed  them  again  in  disguise,  under  an  assumed  name,  and 
was  captured  between  the  lines  with  compromising  papers 
concealed  in  his  boots.  His  status  was  inquired  into  by  a 
court  appointed  by  Washington,  and  on  its  report  that  he  was 
a  spy,  he  was  executed  as  such.  Into  the  legal  aspects  of  the 
case  it  is  unnecessary  to  enter  here.  The  arguments  on  both 
sides  are  admirably  set  forth  in  the  text  and  notes  of  Sir 
Sherstone  Baker's  edition  of  Halleck's  Intemational  Law. 
It  may  be  said  here  that  Lord  Mahon's  description  of  the  Court 
of  Inquiry  does  not  bear  a  careful  examination.  He  stigma- 
tizes Nathanael  Greene,  who  presided  over  the  court,  as 
ignorant  of  Vattel  and  Puff endorf ,  and  as  having  "  no  light  of 
study."  As  a  matter  of  fact,  there  was  no  man  in  America 
who  probably  knew  more  about  the  usages  of  war  than  Nathan- 
ael Greene.  Vattel  was  a  book  much  read  by  the  American 
leaders  of  that  time,  and  the  idea  that  Greene  had  no  light 
of  study"  cannot  be  admitted  for  a  moment,  when  we  re- 
member his  conversations  with  Steuben  about  the  Latin  poets. 
Lord  Mahon  concedes  that  Steuben,  another  member  of  the 
court,  probably  knew  the  usages  of  war,  but  adds  that  he  could 
not  speak  English,  while  his  colleagues  could  speak  neither 
German  nor  French.  He  says,  furthermore,  that  Lafayette, 
a  third  member  of  the  court,  though  holding  high  rank  in 
the  French  army,  was  only  twenty-three  years  of  age,  and  had 
not  made  good  use  of  his  opportunities  at  College.  Surely 
Lafayette,  who  wrote  and  spoke  English  correctly,  could  have 
interpreted  to  his  colleagues  the  sage  observations  of  Steuben. 
As  for  Arnold,  he  received  early  notice  of  Andre's  capture 
and  escaped  to  New  York  (Sept.  1779). 

The  whole  interest  of  the  war  now  centres  in  the  South. 
Clinton  probably  felt  that  it  was  unwise  to  attempt  any 
further  offensive  movements  in  the  North  with  the  inadequate 


III.] 


Arnold  and  Andr^, 


97 


force  then  at  his  disposal;  or,  indeed,  with  any  force  which 
the  British  government  could  place  in  America. 
He  seems  to  have  believed  in  the  existence  of  the  south, 
a  large  loyalist  population  in  the  South;  and  ^778-80. 
there  was  some  foundation  for  this  opinion,  as  the  two  parties 
were  evenly  balanced  in  some  parts  of  that  section,  especially 
in  the  newly-settled  portions  of  the  Carolinas  and  Georgia. 
At  all  events,  in  the  autumn  of  1778,  preparations  for  a  cam- 
paign in  the  South  were  rapidly  pushed  forward.  Two  years 
earlier  (1776),  Clinton  had  commanded  the  land  forces  in  an 
attack  on  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  which  had  ended  in 
failure^  partly  because  the  army  had  been  unable  to  co-operate 
with  the  navy  at  the  critical  moment.  It  was  now  proposed  to 
gain  a  foothold  on  the  shores  of  the  Savannah  River  first,  and 
then  to  approach  Charleston  by  land.  The  town  of  Savannah 
was  captured  in  the  winter  of  1778-79,  and  maintained  against 
a  combined  French  and  American  force  which  laid  siege  to  it 
the  next  year  (1779).  It  was  not  until  Clinton  came  South 
with  a  large  army  in  1780,  that  Charleston  surrendered.  The 
commander-in-chief  was  soon  after  obliged  to  return  to  New 
York  to  watch  a  large  French  army,  under  the  Marquis  de 
Rochambeau,  which  had  landed  at  Newport  in  the  summer  of 
1780.  Cornwallis  was  left  in  command  in  the  South,  and  he 
was  ably  seconded  by  Lord  Rawdon,  afterwards  Marquis  of 
Hastings,  and  Cornwallis' s  successor  as  Governor-General  of 
India.  The  British  cavalry  was  commanded  by  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Sir  Banastre  Tarleton,  who  in  after  years  showed  his 
capacity  for  war  by  severe  strictures  on  the  Duke  of  Welling- 
ton's conduct  as  a  military  commander.  These  three  officers 
evinced  more  enterprise  than  any  other  British  commanders 
in  the  whole  course  of  the  war.  Cornwallis  rapidly  overran 
South  Carolina,  routed  Gates  and  a  new  American  army  near 
Camden  (Aug.  16,  1780),  and  began  the  subjugation  of  North 
Carolina.  Hearing  of  the  existence  of  a  large  body  of  loyalists 
C.  A.  7 


98 


Revolution, 


[Chap. 


in  the  interior  settlements,  he  sent  Colonel  Ferguson,  with  his 
riflemen  composed  mainly  of  Northern  loyalists,  to  beat  up 
recruits  in  the  settlements  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  and 
also  to  disperse  some  parties  of  American  troops  reported  to 
be  in  that  region.  The  presence  of  this  force  at  their  very 
doors  incited  the  hardy  pioneers  of  Tennessee  and  Kentucky 
to  take  part  in  the  war.  Riding  rapidly  through  the  defiles 
of  the  mountains,  these  backwoodsmen  suddenly  appeared  as 
if  out  of  the  clouds.  Ferguson,  hearing  of  their  design,  began 
his  return  march  to  join  the  main  army.  But  it  was  too  late. 
He  was  surrounded  and  surprised  in  his  camp  on  King's 
Mountain  (Oct.  7,  1780),  losing  his  whole  force  and  his  own 
life  at  the  same  time.  The  pioneers,  having  dealt  this  severe 
blow,  returned  to  their  homes  —  almost  as  silently  and  suddenly 
as  they  had  emerged  from  them. 

Not  long  after,  Nathanael  Greene  took  command  of  the 
Greene's         American  forces  in  the  South.    Dividing  his 
Southern  small  army,  he  stationed  himself  next  the  main 

Campaigns.  ^^^^  Comwallis's  right  flank,  and  sent  his 
able  lieutenant  Daniel  Morgan,  the  hero  of  many  hard-fought 
contests,  with  a  thousand  men  to  threaten  Cornwallis's  left 
flank.  Morgan's  advance  became  so  threatening  that  Corn- 
wallis  detached  Tarleton  with  a  well-equipped  force  of  one 
thousand  men  to  drive  him  back.  He  then  put  the  main 
army  in  motion  to  cut  off  Morgan's  retreat  and  prevent  him 
from  joining  Greene.  Tarleton  found  Morgan's  army  at  the 
Cowpens  with  its  back  to  a  deep  river  (Jan.  17,  1781).  Urging 
his  men  forward,  without  waiting  to  deploy,  he  rushed  at  the 
AmericanSo  In  a  few  minutes  his  force,  with  the  exception  of 
perhaps  two  hundred  men,  was  killed,  wounded,  or  captured, 
Tarleton  himself  barely  escaping.  Without  losing  a  moment, 
Morgan  began  his  retreat,  eluded  Cornwallis,  and  sent  his 
prisoners  to  Virginia  for  safe  keeping.  These  two  disasters  at 
King's  Mountain  and  the  Cowpens  deprived  Cornwallis  of 


III.] 


Greene's  Southern  Campaign. 


99 


nearly  all  his  light  troops.  Realizing  the  seriousness  of  his 
position,  he  burned  his  train  and  all  but  his  most  necessary 
supplies,  and  started  in  pursuit  of  Morgan's  force,  now  com- 
manded by  Greene.  Then  followed  one  of  the  most  interest- 
ing movements  in  the  annals  of  the  war.  For  days  the  two 
opposing  forces  seemed  to  be  marching  almost  as  one.  In 
the  end,  Greene  united  the  two  wings  of  his  army  and  retired 
across  the  River  Dan  into  Virginia.  Hastily  gathering  recruits 
he  recrossed  that  river  and  placed  his  army  in  a  very  strong 
position  at  Guilford  Court  House,  and  there  was  fought  one  of 
the  most  fiercely  contested  battles  of  the  war  (March  15,  1781). 
Cornwallis  won,  as  Greene  retired  from  the  field.  Another 
such  "victory,"  as  Charles  James  Fox  exclaimed,  would  ruin 
the  British  army.  Leaving  his  wounded  to  the  care  of  the 
Americans,  Cornwallis  marched  to  Wilmington,  to  recruit  the 
strength  of  his  soldiers  and  replenish  his  equipment.  The 
interior  of  North  Carolina  was  abandoned  and  Greene  marched 
southward  to  the  succour  of  the  people  of  South  Carolina. 
In  that  state,  too,  he  lost  several  battles,  but  he  compelled  the 
evacuation  of  all  the  posts  in  the  interior  of  South  Carolina 
and  Georgia.  By  the  winter  of  1781,  Savannah  and  Charleston 
alone  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  British.  They,  too,  were 
abandoned  in  December,  1782. 

Few  commanders  have  had  a  more  difficult  problem  to 
solve  than  that  which  confronted  Cornwallis  at 

Cornwallis's 

Wilmington.  The  real  objective  in  the  Carolinas  Plan  of  Cam- 
was  Greene  and  his  thousand  regulars.  But  that  p^^^^- 
general  was  already  far  away  on  his  march  to  South  Carolina. 
Cornwallis  might  have  followed  him;  but  the  easiest  and 
quickest  way  to  reach  him  would  be  to  go  by  water  to 
Charleston.  From  that  seaport  Cornwallis  could  march  to 
Camden  and  begin  the  campaign  anew.  He  decided,  how- 
ever, to  proceed  northward  to  Virginia.  The  precise  reasons 
which  led  Cornwallis  to  adopt  this  new  plan  of  campaign  are 

7—2 


lOO  Revolution.  [Chap. 

not  known.  He  may  have  thought  that  Rawdon  with  three 
thousand  men  could  baffle  Greene.  Perhaps  he  realized  the 
great  difficulty  of  conquering  and  holding  such  a  sparsely 
settled  country  as  the  Carolinas.  We  know  that  he  deemed  the 
conquest  of  the  South  impracticable  as  long  as  Virginia  was  in 
American  hands.  He,  therefore,  for  these  or  other  reasons, 
determined  on  the  conquest  of  that  commonwealth.  There 
was  a  small  British  army  there  already,  commanded  by  Phillips 
and  the  traitor  Arnold.  Cornwallis  thought  that  by  combining 
these  troops  with  his  own  he  would  be  stronger  than  any  army 
the  Americans  could  place  in  the  field  against  him.  Phillips 
died  before  Cornwallis  reached  Petersburg.  The  latter  would 
have  nothing  to  do  with  Arnold,  and  sent  him  back  to  New  York. 

There  was  at  that  moment  a  small  American  army  in 
Lafayette  Virginia,  for  Washington  had  sent  Lafayette 
and  Corn-  with  one  division  of  the  Light  Infantry  to 

waihs,  1781.  capture  Arnold.  The  great  advantages  which 
the  topography  of  Virginia  offers  to  the  defending  army  have 
been  noted  above,  and  will  be  described  at  length  when  wt 
come  to  the  campaigns  of  1861-65.  It  is  enough  to  say  here 
that  Cornwallis  and  Lafayette  with  their  respective  armies 
marched  up  into  the  country  and  then  marched  down  to  the 
seaboard  again.  Cornwallis  went  into  summer-quarters  at  Ports- 
mouth, and  later,  removed  to  Yorktown,  which  he  strongly 
fortified,  in  obedience,  as  he  thought,  to  Clinton's  orders. 
Lafayette  encamped  some  miles  away  near  the  junction  of  the 
Mattapony  and  Pamunkey  Rivers;  and  this  was  the  position 
of  affairs  in  September,  1781. 

The  French  alliance  had  produced  few  advantages  to  the 
Siege  of  Americans  up  to  that  time«    It  had  necessitated 

Yorktown,         the  evacuatiou  of  Philadelphia  by  the  British; 

but  the  attempts  of  D'Estaing,  in  conjunction 
with  American  armies,  to  capture  Newport  and  Savannah  had 
both  ended  in  failure.    In  the  summer  of  1780  Rochambeau, 


III.] 


The  Yorktown  Campaign. 


lOI 


with  some  six  thousand  excellent  troops,  had  landed  at  Newport, 
which  had  previously  been  abandoned  by  the  British.  The 
fleet  which  brought  him  over  had  been  immediately  blockaded 
by  a  British  squadron,  and  for  a  whole  year  the  French  army 
had  remained  idle  at  Newport  to  protect  the  shipping.  Their 
presence  there  had  been  a  source  of  great  profit  to  the  farmers 
of  Southern  New  England,  as  they  consumed  large  quantities 
of  vegetables  and  provisions,  paying  therefor  in  specie.  In 
the  early  summer  of  1781,  De  Grasse,  the  French  naval  com- 
mander in  the  West  Indies,  sent  word  that  he  would  sail  north- 
ward with  his  whole  fleet  in  July  or  August.  Washington  was 
anxious  to  use  this  force  to  capture  New  York;  but  De  Grasse 
refused  to  cross  the  bar  outside  that  harbour  and  suggested 
that  some  joint  operation  in  Virginia  might  be  possible.  1  he 
capture  of  Cornwallis  was  therefore  determined  on.  Masking 
their  movements  so  completely  that  Clinton  considered  the 
siege  of  New  York  as  begun,  the  allied  armies  marched  past 
New  York  and  through  Philadelphia  to  the  head  of  Chesapeake 
Bay,  while  the  French  fleet  at  Newport  made  good  its  escape 
and  anchored  in  Chesapeake  Bay  without  having  met  a  British 
ship.  Meantime  De  Grasse,  sailing  northward,  entered  the 
bay  on  the  same  day  on  which  the  allied  armies  approached 
the  northern  end  of  it.  The  British  admiral  in  the  West 
Indies  was  Sir  George  Rodney.  He  entertained  a  strong 
dislike  to  Clinton,  and  instead  of  following  De  Grasse  with  his 
whole  fleet,  he  sent  a  small  squadron  under  Hood  to  reinforce 
the  British  naval  force  at  New  York.  The  British  and  French 
fleets  fought  an  indecisive  action  which  obliged  the  British  to 
return  to  New  York  for  repairs  —  De  Grasse  returning  to  the 
entrance  of  Chesapeake  Bay.  The  control  of  the  sea  was  thus 
for  a  few  weeks  in  the  hands  of  the  allies.  Besieged  by  more 
than  double  his  own  numbers  and  without  hope  of  immediate 
succour,  Cornwallis,  on  Oct.  17th,  1781,  four  years  to  a  day 
from  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne,  asked  for  terms  of  capitula- 


I02 


Revolution. 


[Chap. 


tion,  and  two  days  later  the  British  army,  some  seven  thousand 
strong,  laid  down  its  arms.  This  disaster  brought  about  the 
fall  of  the  North  Ministry,  and  the  recognition  by  Great 
Britain  of  the  independence  of  the  United  States. 

The  king  was  now  forced  to  summon  the  opposition  to 
The  Peace       office  and  to  confide  the  government  to  the 
Negotiations,      Marquis  of  Rockiugham,  Lord  Shelburne,  Mr 
1782-83.  Charles  James  Fox  and  their  followers  who 

had  opposed  his  policy  in  regard  to  both  America  and  England. 
Shelburne  and  Fox,  the  two  Secretaries  of  State,  were  the  most 
important  men  in  the  new  cabinet,  managing  home  and 
colonial  and  foreign  affairs  respectively,  Shelburne  was  a  man 
of  fair  abilities  but  he  was  burdened  with  an  unfortunate  rep- 
utation for  trickery  and  double-dealing.  Of  the  many  acts  of 
bad  faith  with  which  he  was  charged,  none  was  more  serious 
than  the  "pious  fraud  "  he  was  said  to  have  committed  against 
Henry  Fox,  the  first  Lord  Holland,  and  father  of  his  colleague 
Charles  James  Fox.  Shelburne  and.Dr  Franklin  had  been 
good  friends  before  the  war,  and  the  former,  sincerely  desirous 
of  bringing  hostilities  with  America  to  a  speedy  termination, 
sent  a  messenger  to  Paris  to  inquire  of  Franklin  upon  what 
terms  the  Americans  would  consent  to  a  cessation  of  hostilities. 
This  matter  coming  to  the  ears  of  Fox  greatly  incensed  him, 
for  he  deemed  the  negotiations  with  the  United  States  as  an 
independent  nation  to  be  within  his  province  as  Foreign 
Secretary.  Shelburne  maintained,  on  the  contrary,  that  as  in- 
dependence would  be  granted  in  the  treaty  the  conduct  of  the 
negotiations  belonged  to  him.  Fox  seized  the  opportunity 
afforded  by  Rockingham's  death  in  July,  1782,  to  resign  in 
company  with  Mr  Burke  and  his  other  friends.  Shelburne 
then  became  Prime  Minister  and  the  negotiations  proceeded 
without  causing  any  more  friction  in  the  cabinet.  At  Paris, 
affairs  did  not  go  so  smoothly.  The  three  American  Com- 
missioners, who  conducted  this  negotiation,  were  Dr  Franklin, 


III.]  The  Peace  Negotiations,  1782-83.  103 


John  Adams,  and  John  Jay.  The  last  named  was  especially 
accredited  to  Spain.  While  at  Madrid,  he  became  convinced 
that  the  Bourbon  governments  were  desirous  of  continuing  the 
war  in  the  interests  of  Spain,  hoping,  among  other  things,  to 
recover  Gibraltar.  He  also  discovered  that  they  were  anxious 
to  restrict  the  limits  of  the  United  States  with  a  view  to  keep- 
ing the  new  republic  as  far  removed  from  Spain's  American 
possessions  as  possible.  He  thus  suspected  the  good  faith  of 
France.  Franklin,  however,  believed  in  the  good  intentions  of 
the  French  government  toward  the  United  States,  and  pointed 
out  that  the  instructions  to  the  Commissioners  required  them 
to  take  no  important  step  without  the  knowledge  of  that 
government.  The  treaty  of  alliance  also  forbade  either  party 
to  make  a  separate  peace  with  Great  Britain.  In  addition.  Jay 
insisted  that  the  British  government  must  negotiate  with  the 
Americans  as  representatives  of  an  independent  power.  At 
this  juncture,  the  British  authorities  placed  in  Jay's  hands  what 
purported  to  be  a  letter  from  Barb^-Marbois,  Secretary  of  the 
French  legation  at  Philadelphia,  to  his  government,  protesting 
against  the  Americans  continuing  to  enjoy  the  rights  to  the 
fisheries  which  they  had  enjoyed  as  colonists.  Jay  sent  an 
Englishman  then  in  Paris  to  warn  Shelburne  of  the  machi- 
nations of  the  French  government.  At  that  moment  there 
seems  to  have  been  an  agent  of  Vergennes  at  London  who 
had  been  sent  to  communicate  to  the  British  government  the 
views  of  the  Bourbon  powers.  Shelburne  saw  that  now,  if  ever, 
was  the  time  to  conclude  a  separate  treaty  with  the  United 
States,  and  he  waived  all  questions  of  form.  At  this  juncture 
John  Adams  arrived  in  Paris  from  Holland,  where  he  had  been 
negotiating  a  loan.  He  agreed  with  Jay,  and  the  two  forming 
a  majority  of  the  Commission,  they  voted  to  break  their  in- 
structions and  to  come  to  an  agreement  with  England  without 
the  knowledge  of  France.  The  preliminary  articles,  which 
should  form  a  definitive  treaty  whenever  a  general  settlement 


104 


Revohition. 


[Chap. 


should  be  made,  were  signed  on  November  30th,  1782,  the 
definitive  treaty  not  being  concluded  until  some  nine  months 
later,  September  3rd,  1783. 

According  to  the  American  view,  the  Treaty  of  1783  was 
in  the  nature  of  a  partition  of  the  British  Empire. 
It  followed  from  this,  that  the  articles  which  ex- 
tended the  limits  of  the  new  nation  to  the  Mis- 
sissippi, defined  them  on  the  north,  and  gave  rights  to  the 
fisheries"  having  once  gone  into  operation  could  not  be 
annulled  by  a  subsequent  war.  The  intention  of  the  nego- 
tiators was  undoubtedly  to  give  to  the  United  States  the 
territory  of  the  English  colonies  as  it  was  understood  to  exist 
before  the  late  acquisitions  from  France  and  Spain,  limited, 
however,  by  the  Mississippi  on  the  West  in  accordance  with 
the  treaty  of  1763.  The  northern  limit  was  the  southern  limit 
of  Canada,  as  laid  down  in  the  Proclamation  of  1763;  and  the 
southern  limit  was  the  northern  boundary  of  the  Floridas, 
according  to  the  same  proclamation.  These  several  boun- 
daries were  described  in  the  treaty  with  as  much  distinct- 
ness as  was  possible  in  the  existing  state  of  geographical 
knowledge.  So  imperfect  was  that  knowledge  that  the  last 
dispute  arising  under  this  instrument  was  not  settled  until  sixty 
years  later.  Other  provisions  of  the  treaty  gave  rise  to  similar 
difficulties.  Actual  debts  contracted  before  the  war  were  to  be 
considered  as  binding,  but,  as  there  was  no  central  supreme 
court  in  the  United  States  except  for  prize  cases,  this  pro- 
vision was  not  enforced  before  the  establishment  of  the 
government  under  the  new  Constitution.  It  was  provided  also 
that  Congress  should  recommend  to  the  several  States  the  res- 
toration of  property  confiscated  from  the  Loyalists.  The  "  rec- 
ommendation" of  Congress  was  duly  made  and  proved  to  be 
entirely  ineffective :  the  States  paid  no  attention  to  it  and  Par- 
liament was  obliged  to  care  for  the  Royalists.  Another  clause 
obliged  the  British  to  evacuate  all  posts  within  the  limits  of  the 


m.]  The  Treaty  of  Peace,  1783.  105 

new  nation,  and  to  carry  away  no  private  property.  Many 
slaves  who  had  congregated  at  New  York  were  carried  away 
at  the  evacuation  of  that  port.  This  was  justified  on  the 
ground  that  places  occupied  by  the  British  army  were  "  English 
soil "  in  view  of  the  famous  decision  of  Lord  Mansfield.  It 
was  also  contended  that  when  slaves  or  any  other  American 
property  came  within  the  British  lines  in  time  of  war  such  prop- 
erty became  British  property.  This  controversy  was  never 
.adjusted  as  Great  Britain  steadfastly  refused  to  indemnify  the 
Americans  for  their  losses. 

The  peace  found  the  people  of  the  United  States  in  a  far 
more  prosperous  condition  than  at  first  sight  Effects  of 
would  seem  possible.  The  total  population  had  the  War  in 
increased  some  three  hundred  thousand  in  seven 
years.  Of  all  the  States,  only  Rhode  Island  and  Georgia 
showed  a  decrease  in  population.  The  principal  reason  for 
this  prosperity  is  that  while  the  war  had  continued  for  seven 
years  in  the  country  as  a  whole,  active  operations  had  been 
carried  on  in  no  one  portion  of  it  for  more  than  three  years. 
First  New  England,  then  the  Middle  States,  and  finally  the 
South  had  in  turn  been  the  seat  of  war.  Falmouth  was 
the  only  town  destroyed  during  the  conflict,  and  Boston  was  the 
only  large  town  that  was  pillaged  to  any  serious  extent.  Nor 
was  the  presence  of  the  British  army  at  a  permanent  station 
like  that  of  New  York,  for  instance,  a  commercial  injury  to 
the  people  of  the  neighbourhood.  The  British  soldiers  re- 
quired provisions  and  generally  paid  good  prices  for  what  they 
bought.  As  we  have  seen,  the  same  may  be  said  of  the 
French  army  —  its  presence  was  a  benefit  to  Southern  New 
England.  Commerce  was  interrupted,  but  the  tobacco  crop, 
then  the  most  valuable  single  crop,  was  sent  to  market,  though 
in  a  roundabout  way.  Agriculture  does  not  seem  to  have 
been  seriously  interfered  with,  and  agriculture  was  the  most 
important  industry  of  the  country.    Historians  seem  to  have 


106  Revolution,  [Chap.  iii. 

overlooked  the  part  played  by  the  American  privateers-men. 
It  has  been  stated,  though  on  what  authority  is  not  clear,  that 
as  many  Americans  were  engaged  on  the  watdt  as  were  in  the 
armies  on  land,  and  we  know  from  the  rise  in  insurance  at 
"Lloyds"  that  they  must  have  been  fairly  successful  in  their 
pursuit.  It  should  also  be  stated,  that  many  manufacturing 
industries  were  established  and  profitably  carried  on  during  the 
war.  The  great  depreciation  in  the  currency  has  been  often 
adverted  to  as  showing  the  disastrous  effect  of  the  war  on  the 
people  of  the  new  States.  But  there  is  another  side  to  this 
also.  There  were  then  few  persons  in  the  United  States  who 
depended  upon  the  proceeds  of  invested  funds.  Most  of  the 
people  lived  on  the  proceeds  of  their  own  labour  either  on  their 
own  farms  or  as  servants  and  slaves  on  the  farms  of  their 
masters.  The  possession  of  more  than  a  very  small  sum  of 
money  was  unknown  to  the  great  mass  of  the  people.  Further- 
more, the  depreciation  of  the  currency  was  gradual  and  spread 
out  over  many  transactions.  It  was  really  in  the  nature  of  a  tax, 
and  was  the  only  tax  which  the  people  could  be  induced  to  pay. 

At  all  events,  large  quantities  of  specie  were  exported  from 
the  United  States  in  the  years  immediately  following  the  war. 
This  was  to  pay  for  goods  with  which  short-sighted  English 
merchants  and  equally  short-sighted  American  consignees 
glutted  the  markets  of  the  country.  This  avalanche  of  British 
manufactures  put  an  end  for  the  time  to  American  manu- 
facturing, and  induced  the  people  to  contract  debts  which  they 
could  not  pay.  Then  real  suffering  ensued.  All  sorts  of  ques- 
tionable expedients  were  resorted  to.  Repudiation  of  obliga- 
tions, inter-state  conflicts,  and  local  rebellions  became  the  ruleo 
The  years  1783-88  have  well  been  called  "the  critical  period  " 
in  the  history  of  the  United  States.  But,  perhaps  the  suffering 
of  those  years  was  necessary  to  "extort,"  as  John  Adams  said, 
"  the  Constitution  from  the  grinding  necessities  of  a  reluctant 
people." 


CHAPTER  IV. 


THE  CONSTITUTION. 

It  has  been  noted  in  an  earlier  chapter  how  the  particularist 
tendencies  of  the  people  of  the  several  colonies     ^  .  . 

^     ^  Beginning 

had  prevented  all  the  pre-revolutionary  plans  of  of  *'partic- 
union  from  consummation.  At  the  beginning  of 
the  actual  conflict,  it  seemed  as  if  this  obstacle  to  union  had 
been  overcome.  Patrick  Henry  declared  that  government  was 
dissolved  and  that  the  rebellious  colonists  were  in  a  "  state  of 
nature."  He  proposed  that  colonial  boundary  lines  should  be 
disregarded,  and  that  each  hundred  thousand  persons  should 
send  one  representative  to  Congress.  At  the  time,  however, 
no  means  existed  of  determining  the  population  of  the  colonies. 
It  was  impossible  to  put  any  such  scheme  into  execution,  or 
even  to  apportion  the  representation  in  Congress  among  the 
several  States.  Congress  was  obliged  to  fall  back  on  the 
familiar  local  organizations,  and  give  to  each  colony  one  vote. 
If  an  accurate  enumeration  had  been  practicable,  it  is  probable 
that  representation  would  have  been  arranged  according  to 
population  or  wealth,  or  upon  some  combination  of  population 
and  wealth.  Had  this  been  done  at  that  time,  the  subsequent 
history  of  the  United  States  might  —  in  all  likelihood  it  would 
—  have  been  very  different  from  what  it  actually  has  been. 
Historical  students  generally  lament  this  decision  of  the  First 

107 


io8 


The  Constitution, 


[Chap. 


Continental  Congress.  They  regard  the  particularism  of  a  later 
day  as  unfortunate,  for  they  are  familiar  with  the  evils  which 
have  resulted  from  the  State-rights  theories,  and  are  given  to 
attribute  to  particularism  many  evils  which  were  the  result  of 
the  prevalence  of  slave-labour  in  the  South  and  of  free  labour 
in  the  North.  But  it  may  well  be  that  the  salvation  of  the 
country  has  been  due  to  the  strong  local  pride  which  prevails 
among  its  citizens  and  to  their  dislike  of  centralization.  At 
the  outset  of  the  conflict  the  Continental  Congress  assumed  and 
exercised  many  of  the  functions  of  sovereignty,  and  the  people 
acquiesced  in  this  assumption  of  authority.  For  example. 
Congress  raised,  equipped,  and  maintained  armies;  sent  and 
received  all  diplomatic  agents;  and  contracted  debts  for 
national  purposes. 

In  the  earlier  years  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  the  State 
The  states  governments  were  formed,  in  compliance,  it  is 
and  the  Con-  true,  with  the  advicc  of  Congress.  As  time 
federation. .  went  ou  and  the  first  feeling  of  enthusiasm  gave 
way  to  a  sense  of  depression,  the  people  of  the  several  States 
turned  to  their  respective  local  governments  as  representing 
the  old  order  of  things  and  as  the  organizations  with  which  they 
had  the  most  to  do  and  over  which  they  exercised  the  most 
effective  control.  The  central  authority  of  Great  Britain,  which 
had  bound  them  together,  no  longer  acted  as  arbiter  or  pro- 
tector. They  determined  to  replace  it  by  a  central  authority 
having  such  powers  as  they  maintained  the  British  government 
had  possessed  and  no  more.  By  the  Articles  of  Confedera- 
tion, therefore,  they  limited  the  functions  of  the  national 
government  —  the  United  States  in  Congress  Assembled  —  and 
gave  it  no  coercive  power  whatever. 

The  Articles  of  Confederation,  as  the  frame  of  government 
^     ,        for  the  union  was  called,  were  elaborated  by  a 

The  Articles  '  ^ 

of  Confedera-     committee  of  the  Congress,  appointed  in  June, 
1776.    They  were  not  completed  until  Novem- 


IV.] 


The  Land  Cessions, 


109 


ber,  1777.  By  that  time,  the  reaction  towards  part.cularism 
was  well  advanced.  Three  years  elapsed  before  the  articles 
were  ratified  by  the  States,  and  they  did  not  come  into  force 
until  March,  1781.  The  successful  prosecution  of  the  war 
would  have  been  very  difficult  had  Congress  been  earlier  limited 
in  its  authority.  As  it  happened,  the  impulse  given  by  the  old 
Congress,  feeble  though  it  was,  carried  the  country  through 
the  Yorktown  campaign.  The  causes  of  this  delay  must  be 
described  at  some  length,  because,  as  an  indirect  result  of  it, 
the  United  States  as  a  whole  became  the  owner  of  a  large 
tract  of  land,  the  possession  of  which  necessarily  made  strongly 
for  nationalism. 

In  1783  Great  Britain  ceded  to  the  United  States  the 
territory  between  the  Alleghanies  and  the  Missis-  .  ^^-^^^^^ 
sippi.  Even  before  the  cession  and  regardless  the  National 
of  historical  facts  and  legal  theories,  several 
States  put  forth  pretensions  to  an  exclusive  right  to  large 
portions  of  this  vast  domain.  Many  of  these  claims  over- 
lapped, Virginia's  claim  covering  those  of  three  other  States. 
They  were  based  on  the  old  colonial  charters,  all  but  one  of 
which  had  been  annulled,  and  on  other  grounds.  Connecticut, 
whose  charter  had  been  annulled  and  afterwards  re-confirmed, 
claimed  a  large  territory  west  of  the  settlements  on  the  Hudson. 
Massachusetts  based  her  claim  to  western  lands  on  the  charter 
of  1 69 1,  which  had  been  suspended  by  Parliament  in  1774. 
The  Carolinas  claimed  lands  under  the  charters  of  1663  ^"^^ 
1665,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  king  had  bought  out 
seven  of  the  eight  proprietors  in  1 7  2 1 .  Georgia  claimed  under 
her  charter  of  1732,  which  had  been  surrendered  to  the  Crown 
in  1751,  and  under  a  further  grant  contained  in  the  Proclama- 
tion of  1763.  Virginia's  claim  was  based  on  her  charters  of 
1606,  1609,  and  161 2,  which  had  all  been  annulled  in  1624, 
since  which  time  she  had  been  a  royal  province.  The  king 
had  even  granted  some  of  the  land  within  her  charter  limits, 


110 


The  Constitution, 


[Chap. 


to  the  proprietors  of  Maryland,  Pennsylvania,  and  Carolina. 
The  western  portion  of  Virginia  under  the  charters  he  had  dis- 
posed of  by  the  Proclamation  of  1763.  Of  all  these  claims, 
that  of  New  York  alone  had  no  relation  to  royal  grants.  The 
Six  Nations,  or  the  League  of  the  Iroquois,  had  submitted  to 
the  governor  of  New  York  as  representative  of  the  king.  New 
York  now  asserted  that  the  submission  had  been  made  to  the 
colony  of  New  York  and  that  the  State  of  that  name  was 
entitled  to  all  the  lands  over  which  the  Iroquois  had  ever 
exercised  dominion.  This  territory  included  nearly  all  the  land 
beween  the  Alleghanies  and  the  Mississippi  north  of  the  Ohio, 
and  some  land  south  of  that  river.  Virginia  also  claimed  the 
lands  lying  north  of  the  Ohio  by  right  of  conquest,  the  British 
posts  in  that  region  having  been  captured  by  an  expedition 
organized  and  paid  for  by  Virginia.  It  will  be  noticed  that.no 
State  seemed  to  regard  the  Quebec  Act  as  binding.  Nor  did 
any  State  pay  the  slightest  heed  to  the  Proclamation  of  1763, 
except  Georgia,  and  that  only  as  the  Proclamation  added  to 
her  territory.  Yet  it  must  be  conceded  that  all  the  lands 
claimed  under  the  charters  except  perhaps  those  claimed  by 
Connecticut  and  Massachusetts  had  reverted  to  the  Crown 
years  before.  Six  States  —  Maryland,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware, 
New  Jersey,  New  Hampshire,  and  Rhode  Island  —  could  assert 
no  title  whatever  to  western  lands  unless  as  a  part  of  the 
common  property  of  the  United  States.  Maryland  was  most 
seriously  affected  by  the  demands  of  the  claimant  States. 
Virginia,  her  southern  neighbour,  had  already  granted  lands 
west  of  the  mountains  and  proposed  to  liquidate  her  war 
debts  and  pensicm  her  soldiers  by  other  similar  grants.  Mary- 
land, having  no  such  fund  at  her  disposal,  would  be  obliged  to 
raise  money  by  taxation  to  satisfy  the  just  demands  of  her 
creditors  and  of  her  veterans.  It  seemed  not  improbable  that 
under  these  circumstances  large  numbers  of  Marylanders  would, 
emigrate  to  Virginia,  and  that  the  former  State  would  become 


IV.] 


The  Articles  of  Confederation, 


III 


impoverished.  Maryland,  therefore,  refused  to  ratify  the  Arti- 
cles of  Confederation  unless  the  States  claiming  lands  should 
cede  their  claims  to  the  United  States.  After  a  long  delay, 
New  York,  whose  title  was  of  the  weakest  kind,  ceded  it  to 
the  United  States.  Maryland  then,  trusting  in  the  goodwill 
of  the  other  States,  ratified  the  Articles.  The  claimant  States 
slowly,  making  as  good  bargains  as  possible  for  themselves, 
ceded  the  lands  to  which  they  regarded  themselves  as  entitled 
—  Georgia's  cession  in  1801  being  the  last.  In  this  way 
came  into  being  the  national  domain,"  whose  administration 
almost  necessitated  the  continuance  of  a  national  government. 

The  Articles  of  Confederation,  thus  brought  into  operation, 
have  seldom  received  due  consideration  at  the 
hands  of  historical  writers.    They  have  always  o/the°Ar^?cies 
been  considered  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  of^Confedera- 
Constitution  which  came  later.    The  Articles 
should  be  considered  from  the  more  historical  standpoint  of 
what  went  before.    They  formed  an  essential  step  in  the  his- 
torical process  by  which  the  American  people  emerged  from 
the  colonial  stage  and  formed  itself  into  a  nation.  The 
Articles  were  drafted  hv  men  who  had  regarded  the  British 
Empire  as  a  federative  union,  with  the  loosest  possible  bond  of 
union  in  the  shape  of  a  helpless  executive.    Thev  sought  to 
reproduce  such  a  federation  with  a  representative  exemtive 
instead  of  a  king.    Such  a  form  of  government  was  impossible, 
but  experience  was  necessary  to  convince  the  American  people 
of  the  impossibility. 

The  new  union  was  in  no  sense  a  legislative  union  like  that 
of  England  and  Scotland  in  1707.    It  resembled      character  of 
more  the  old  union  of  those  kingdoms  through    the  new 
a  chief  magistrate,  only  in  this  case  the  chief  s^^®*"""^^^*- 
magistrate  was  a  body  of  men.    It  might  well  be  termed, 
therefore,  an  executive  union.    The  colonies  had  been  united 
under  a  common  executive,  the  British  king  —  at  least  that  was 


112 


The  Constitution, 


[Chap. 


the  theory.  They  replaced  him  by  a  Congress  composed  of 
delegates  from  the  several  States,  each  State  having  one  vote 
and  the  assent  of  nine  States  being  necessary  for  the  trans- 
action of  important  business.  Congress  furthermore  was  de- 
signed to  act  as  arbiter  in  disputes  between  the  several  States. 
The  Congress  had  almost  no  legislative  power,  no  power  to 
lay  taxes,  nor  to  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  powers  or 
between  the  States.  It  could  recommend  legislation  to  the 
States  and  make  requisitions  for  money.  On  paper  its  execu- 
tive powers  were  ample.  To  it  belonged,  for  instance,  the 
determination  of  war  and  peace,  the  regulation  of  the  monetary 
standard,  and  the  right  to  coin  money.  It  also  could  exercise 
an  admiralty  jurisdiction;  and  treaties  made  by  Congress  were 
to  be  a  part  of  the  supreme  law  of  the  land.  The  weak  point 
in  the  scheme  was  the  absence  of  a  sanction.  Congress  had 
no  coercive  power  over  individuals;  it  could  act  on  individuals 
only  through  the  State  governments,  and  it  had  no  power  to 
coerce  a  State.  Congress  determined  how  much  money  should 
be  raised  for  national  purposes,  and  apportioned  the  amount 
among  the  States.  It  could  not  compel  a  State  to  pay  one 
dollar;  nor  could  it  raise  one  dollar  by  an  Act  of  Congress. 
The  next  few  years  demonstrated  the  viciousness  of  this 
system,  and  accordingly  it  was  swept  away  and  a  strong  con- 
solidated government  established  in  its  stead.  Nevertheless, 
the  establishment  of  the  Confederation  under  these  defective 
articles  was  an  event  of  the  very  greatest  importance.  It  was 
possible  for  the  people  in  1777-81  to  have  established  thirteen 
distinct  governments,  the  inhabitants  of  each  State  forming  a 
nation.  The  establishment  of  any  central  government,  power- 
less though  that  government  may  have  been,  was  one  of  those 
steps  which  never  can  be  retraced.  The  lines  of  development 
were  then  marked  out  in  the  direction  of  nationality. 

It  may  be  asked  how  it  happened  that  the  control  of  the 
national  domain  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  United  States. 


IV.] 


The  Ordinance  of  1787. 


113 


Why  was  not  the  territory  acquired  from  Great  Britain  and 
the  claimant  States  parcelled  out  among  the  States  according 
to  population  or  in  some  other  ratio?    In  the 
first  place,  it  would  have  been  exceedingly  diffi-  Domain!^**°"*^ 
cult,  perhaps  impossible,  to  have  made  a  divi- 
sion which  would  have  been  at  all  satisfactory.  Moreover 
the  people  really  seem  to  have  had  some  consciousness  of 
nationahty.    The  United  States  was  merely  one  portion  spht 
off  from  the  British  Empire.    In  the  old  empire  the  title  to 
and  the  administration  of  ungranted  lands  was  in  the  Crown. 
It  was  natural,  therefore,  that  in  the  new  republic  the  joint 
executive  which  succeeded  to  the  other  functions  of  the  Crown 
should  inherit  this  function  also.    It  will  be  convenient  to  here 
trace  the  further  history  of  this  subject. 

By  the  autumn  of  1784,  all  the  States  claiming  lands  to  the 
north  and  west  of  the  Ohio  River  had  ceded  their 
claims  to  the  United  States  with  certain  excep-  n£mce  0/1787. 
tions,  as  in  the  cases  of  Connecticut  and  Virginia. 
Congress  at  that  time  passed  an  Ordinance,  mainly  the  work 
of  Jefferson,  providing  for  the  ultimate  formation  of  several  gro- 
tesquely named  States,  as  Polypotamia  and  Assenisippia.  The 
Ordinance  also  contained  a  clause  forbidding  slavery  in  all  the 
western  territory  after  1800.  In  1787  the  matter  was  taken 
up  in  earnest,  owing  to  the  persistence  of  a  New  England 
land  and  emigration  company,  which  was  unable  to  induce 
settlers  to  go  to  the  new  country  unless  they  and  their 
descendants  should  first  be  guaranteed  full  civil  rights  there. 
Congress,  in  compliance  with  this  demand,  although  plainly 
nowhere  vested  with  any  such  constitutional  power,  passed  the 
well-known  Ordinance  of  1787,  which  was  confirmed  by  the 
first  Congress  under  the  Constitution.  With  the  exception  of 
the  Declaration  of  Independence  and  the  Federal  Constitution, 
no  poHtical  instrument  has  produced  more  important  results 
for  the  United  States  than  has  this  Ordinance.  As  new  terri- 
C.A.  8 


114 


The  Constitution. 


[Chap. 


tory  has  been  organized  this  Ordinance  with  the  occasional 
exception  of  the  clause  forbidding  slavery  has  been  the  basis 
of  the  territorial  organization.  The  Ordinance  of  1787  pro- 
vided a  temporary  government  for  the  Territory  North-west  of 
the  River  Ohio  by  officials  appointed  by  Congress.  As  soon  as 
the  settlers  in  the  new  territory  should  number  five  thousand,  a 
representative  legislature  should  be  elected;  and  the  people  of 
the  territory  might  send  a  delegate  to  Congress  who,  however, 
should  have  no  vote  in  that  body.  Provision  was  made  for 
the  ultimate  formation  of  six  States  out  of  the  territory  and 
they  were  to  be  admitted  to  the  Union,  on  a  footing  of  com- 
plete equality  with  the  original  States.  The  people  of  each 
State  should  frame  a  constitution  for  that  State,  which  must  be 
republican  in  form  and  receive  the  approval  of  Congress.  The 
settlers  who  should  go  to  the  new  territory  were  guaranteed  civil 
rights,  as,  for  instance,  the  benefits  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus, 
trial  by  jury, bail,  and  free  representation  in  the  legislature.  The 
legislature  was  forbidden  to  make  any  laws  impairing  the  obli- 
gation of  private  contracts  formed  previous  to  the  passage  of  such 
law.  It  was  also  provided  that  education  should  be  encouraged 
and  the  Indians  properly  treated.  The  three  most  important 
provisions  of  the  Ordinance,  however,  and  those  which  have 
given  it  a  place  in  history,  are  those  providing  for  the  equal 
distribution  of  the  estates  of  intestates,  prohibiting  the  molesta- 
tion of  any  person  on  account  of  his  mode  of  worship  or  religious 
opinions,  and  forbidding  absolutely  and  for  ever  slavery  except 
as  a  punishment  for  crime  —  with  a  provision  for  the  rendition 
of  fugitive  slaves.  The  precise  meaning  and  binding  force  of 
the  Ordinance  and  of  its  several  parts  are  questions  which  have 
agitated  courts,  both  State  and  national,  legislatures,  constitu- 
tional conventions,  and  congresses.  It  has  been  generally  held 
that  these  guarantees  were  in  the  nature  of  a  compact  between 
the  United  States  and  the  people  of  the  new  territory,  and  of 
the  States  formed  from  it,  and  could  not  be  abrogated  without 


IV.] 


The  Ordinance  of  lySy, 


115 


the  consent  of  all  parties.  At  all  events,  the  Ordinance  pre- 
served freedom  in  the  North-west.  Furthermore,  by  the  policy 
thus  formulated,  the  American  people,  for  the  first  time  in  the 
history  of  mankind,  voluntarily  promised  to  those  who  should 
form  colonies  in  these  new  territories,  equal  rights  with  the 
inhabitants  living  in  the  older  States.  This  promise  has  been 
rigidly  adhered  to,  and  thus  the  United  States  has  grown,  not 
by  forming  colonies  according  to  the  usual  meaning  attached  to 
the  phrase,  but  by  absorbing  into  the  Union  States  formed  on 
the  national  domain.  This  process  has  disguised  the  fact  that 
during  the  last  century  the  United  States  has  been  the  greatest 
and  most  successful  colonizing  power  in  the  world. 

At  the  time  of  the  ratification  of  the  Articles,  the  complaints 
of  the  soldiers  of  the  Revolutionary  army  were  so  ^ 

Congress  and 

loud  and  threatening  as  seriously  to  menace  the  the  Army, 
safety  of  the  republic.  The  situation  of  the  army  ^778-83. 
officers,  and  of  the  soldiers  as  well,  was  very  distressing.  They 
had  abandoned  their  means  of  securing  a  livelihood  and  were 
serving  their  country  for  a  compensation  which  did  not  cover 
their  own  personal  expenses.  The  families  of  many  of  them 
were  in  great  need.  Under  these  circumstances,  as  early  as 
1778,  large  numbers  of  the  officers  of  the  Continental  Line  had 
either  resigned  their  commissions  or  had  threatened  to  resign. 
This  wholesale  change  in  the  personnel  of  the  company  and 
regimental  officers  would  have  been  disastrous.  Washington 
interfered,  and  exerted  himself  to  the  utmost  to  secure  the 
adoption  by  Congress  of  some  scheme  of  half-pay  for  Hfe  or  of 
pensions  which  might  induce  the  officers  to  remain  in  the 
service.  The  people,  as  a  whole,  were  very  jealous  of  the 
army.  Probably  they  feared  it.  At  all  events,  Congress  no 
•^ooncr  paoucd  a  wlv  [A\)MYkhTt  \,b  the  soldiers  than  pubHc 
opinion  compelled  it  to  annul  its  vote.  In  the  autumn  of  1780, 
when  the  army  seemed  to  be  on  the  point  of  dissolution,  the 
Continental  Congress  promised  half-pay  for  life  to  those  who 

8—2 


The  Constitiction. 


[Chap. 


should  serve  until  the  end  of  the  war.  The  first  Congress  of 
the  Confederation  repudiated  this  action  upon  the  unworthy 
pretext  that  nine  States  (the  number  required  under  the  Articles) 
had  not  voted  for  it.  The  officers  then  offered  to  compromise 
by  commuting  the  half-pay  for  life  to  full  pay  for  seven  years. 
This  was  the  condition  of  affairs  in  March,  J783,  when  an 
anonymous  address  was  published  at  Newburg  on  the  Hudson, 
where  the  army  was  encamped,  calling  a  meeting  to  determine 
what  measures  should  be  taken  to  obtain  justice.  Washington, 
with  great  tact,  averted  the  danger  by  calling  another  meeting. 
He  there  met  the  officers  and  induced  them  to  intrust  their 
affairs  to  him.  Had  Washington  at  that  time  spoken  the 
word,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  he  might  have  played 
the  part  of  other  great  commanders'  in  civil  strife  and  made 
himself  a  king.  But  to  a  suggestion  of  that  nature  he  replied 
in  such  a  manner  that  it  was  never  repeated.  Congress  was 
now  induced  to  grant  full  pay  for  five  years  in  money  or 
in  such  promises  to  pay  as  other  creditors  of  the  Confederation 
received.  Towards  the  end  of  the  year  the  army  was  dis- 
banded, Washington  bidding  farewell  to  his  officers  on 
December  14th,  1783. 

This  dispute  as  to  half-pay  had  run  to  this  dangerous 
The  Finances  ^^^g^^  bccausc  Cougrcss  had  neither  the  means 
of  the  Con-  to  Satisfy  the  demands  of  the  army  nor  any  pros- 
federation,  p^^^  obtaining  them.  In  1783,  the  total  debt 
of  the  United  States  was  about  fortv  millions  of  HoUptc;^  in- 
cluding nearly  five  millions  diie  to  the  army.  The  annual 
interest  on  this  debt  amounted  to  nearly  two  and  one-half 
millions.  Of  the  total  of  forty  millions,  some  eight  millions 
were  owed  abroad  to  the  French  government  and  to  other  foreign 
governments  and  individuals.  The  interest  on  this  portion  of 
the  debt  was  met  by  the  proceeds  of  new  loans  contracted  in 
Europe.  The  interest  on  the  domestic  debt,  as  that  owed  to 
Americans  was  called,  was  not  paid  at  all.    Between  1782 


IV.] 


Weakness  of  the  Confederation, 


117 


and  1786,  Congress  made  requisitions  upon  the  States  to 
the  amount  of  six  millions.  Of  this,  only  one  million  had 
been  paid  up  to  the  end  of  1786.  At  no  time  in  the  life  of 
the  Confederation  was  Congress  able  to  pay  the  running  ex- 
penses of  the  government.  This  was  the  defect  in  the  Articles 
of  Confederation  which  has  attracted  most  attention.  An 
attempt  was  made  to  remedy  it  before  the  Articles  came  into 
operation.  At  that  time  (1781)  it  was  proposed  to  give  Con- 
gress the  right  to  levy  duties  on  imports  to  the  extent  of  five 
per  cent,  ad  valorem.  But  this  very  moderate  proposal  fell 
through  owing  to  the  obstinacy  of  Rhode  Island  and  the 
fickleness  of  Virginia.  At  another  time  (1783)  the  suggestion 
was  made  that  Congress  should  be  given  power  to  levy  certain 
duties,  partly  specific  and  partly  ad  valorem^  to  be  collected  by 
officials  appointed  by  the  States,  but  responsible  to  Congress. 
To  this  proposition  the  people  also  turned  a  deaf  ear.  The 
attention  of  the  country  had  been  called,  however,  to  the  fact 
that  there  was  a  national  debt  and  that  there  was  no  national 
income. 

A  government  so  weak  at  home  was  neither  feared  nor 
respected  abroad.    Great  Britain,  for  example, 
immediately  enforced  against  the  people  of  the  Aifairs^^ 
United  States  all  the  restrictions  of  the  pre-revo- 
lutionary  commercial  system.    The  United  States  was  helpless. 
The  central  government  had  the  power  to  conclude  treaties, 
but  it  had  no  power  to  regulate  commerce.    There  were  no 
restrictions  on  trade  which  its  agents  could  offer  to  abandon 
as  the  price  of  reciprocity;  and  the  Congress  could  not,  as 
foreign  nations  well  knew,  impose  any  such  restrictions. 
Congress,  therefore,  was  unable  to  conclude  a  commercial 
treaty  with  England.    Nor  had  it  the  means  to  compel 
obedience  to  treaties  already  in  existence. 

Congress  made  the  recommendation  as  to  the  Loyalists  in 
accordance  with  the  Treaty  of  1783.    Instead  of  complying 


ii8 


The  Constitution, 


[Chap. 


with  it,  the  States  seemed  to  vie  with  one  another  in  imposing 
new  hardships  on  Loyalists  remaining  in  or  returning  to  the 

United  States,  This  was  impolitic  and  unjust, 
with  ol-e^at  but  it  was  not  an  infraction  of  the  treaty.  The 
SpL\n"^"^        clause  providing  that  no  obstacles  should  be 

placed  in  the  way  of  the  collection  of  debts 
contracted  before  the  war  was  broken  again  and  again,  and  the 
central  government,  having  no  coercive  power,  could  not  en- 
force the  supremacy  of  the  treaty  over  State  laws.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  British  government  infringed  the  treaty  in  two  im- 
portant respects.  First,  the  posts  in  the  North-west  were  not 
surrendered  to  the  United  States  but  were  retained  together 
with  the  profitable  fur  trade  which  had  grown  up  about  them; 
and  secondly,  compensation  for  slaves  taken  away  at  the  time 
of  the  evacuation  of  New  York  and  Charleston  was  refused. 
Relations  with  Great  Britain  were  in  this  unsatisfactory  state 
when  the  government  was  organized  under  the  Constitution. 
Against  Spain  also  there  was  considerable  complaint.  That 
power  refused  to  recognize  the  31st  parallel  of  latitude  as  the 
southern  boundary  of  the  United  States,  and  maintained  that 
Florida,  which  had  been  ceded  back  to  her  by  Great  Britain 
at  the  close  of  the  war  (1783),  extended  as  far  north  as  the 
Yazoo  River  (32°  30'  N.  L.)  as  that  was  the  northern  boundary 
of  West  Florida  during  the  later  years  of  the  English  domination. 
Nor  would  Spain  recognize  the  right  of  the  people  of  the  new 
nation  to  the  free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi.  Spain  held 
both  sides  of  the  river,  not  only  at  its  mouth,  but  for  more  than 
two  hundred  miles  inland.  This  was  a  serious  matter  for  the 
United  States,  as  the  inhabitants  of  the  new  settlements  in 
Tennessee  and  Kentucky,  west  of  the  Alleghanies,  reached 
tide-water  most  conveniently  by  the  Mississippi  route.  They 
threatened  to  join  Spain  or  Great  Britain  unless  the  United 
States  could  protect  them  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  rights  in 
the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi.    At  the  time,  this  danger 


IV.] 


Financial  Heresies, 


119 


seemed  real  and  great ;  but  it  is  not  unlikely  that  it  was  unduly 
exaggerated. 

In  1784,  the  imports  into  the  United  States  amounted  in 
round  numbers  to  three  million  seven  hundred     ^.      .  , 

Financial 

thousand  pounds  sterling.  The  exports  during  heresies, 
the  same  year  were  estimated  by  the  same  au-  ^784-87- 
thority  at  seven  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  pounds  sterling. 
The  balance  of  three  million  pounds  was  paid  by  the  exportation 
of  specie.  The  country  was  soon  drained  of  gold  and  silver  and 
a  cry  arose  throughout  the  land  for  inconvertible  paper  money. 
In  spite  of  the  terrible  disasters  which  paper  money  had  wrought 
within  recent  years  all  the  States,  with  the  exception  of  New 
Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  and  Virginia,  issued  inconvertible 
paper  money.  The  most  extraordinary  fruits  of  this  vicious 
policy  were  seen  in  Rhode  Island.  In  that  little  State,  there  was 
a  sharp  line  of  demarcation  between  the  town  and  country, "  or 
better,  perhaps,  between  those  engaged  in  agricultural  and 
those  occupied  in  mercantile  pursuits.  The  farmers  were  in 
the  majority.  They  secured  the  passage  of  a  law  entitling  an 
owner  of  land  to  receive  paper  money  from  the  State  in  ex- 
change for  a  mortgage  on  his  land  equal  to  double  the  amount 
of  the  paper  money  received.  The  merchants  refused  to  take 
the  money  from  the  first  holder  and  it  depreciated  in  a  few 
months  to  one-sixth  of  its  nominal  value.  Several  expedients 
were  then  resorted  to  to  secure  its  circulation.  One  act  obliged 
all  persons  to  accept  this  currency  under  penalty  of  disfranchise- 
ment, and  a  fine  of  one  hundred  pounds  in  case  of  refusal  —  the 
case  to  be  tried  without  a  jury,  by  judges  annually  appointed 
by  the  legislature.  The  merchants  closed  their  doors  rather 
than  do  business  on  these  terms;  and,  to  starve  them  into 
obedience,  the  farmers  withheld  the  produce  of  their  farms. 
In  the  case  of  Trevett  against  Weeden,  one  of  the  most 
famous  in  the  history  of  the  country,  the  question  was  brought 
before  the  courts,  when  the  judges,  to  their  honour  be  it  said, 


120 


The  Constitution, 


[Chap. 


declared  the  law  to  be  unconstitutional,  and  therefore  null  and 
void.  Then  it  was  proposed  to  oblige  every  one  to  take  an 
oath  to  support  the  act  or  to  lose  all  civil  and  political  rights. 
But  this  was  farther  than  the  people  of  Rhode  Island  were 
willing  to  go,  and  the  plan  was  abandoned.  The  tendency  of 
paper  money  to  depreciate  could  not  fail  to  attract  attention 
even  at  that  time,  and  the  signers  of  at  least  one  petition  pro- 
posed that  the  rate  of  depreciation  should  be  regulated  in 
advance  by  law. 

The  only  thing  which  in  any  wise  justified  this  desire  for 
paper  currency  was  the  state  of  the  coinage  —  if  it  may  be 
dignified  by  that  name.    All  sorts  of  coins  were  in  use,  "  joes," 
fips,  moidores,  English  and  French  guineas,  bits, 
CcfirTage^^  picayunes,  and  especially,  Spanish  milled  dol- 

lars, whose  nominal  value  was  about  four  shil- 
lings. These  coins  were  for  the  most  part  old  and  light  in 
weight.  Perhaps  the  best  evidence  of  the  debased  condition  of 
the  coinage  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  the  government 
officials  felt  obliged  to  clip  the  good  coins  received  from 
France,  before  paying  them  out  to  the  soldiers  and  other 
creditors.  Congress  had  power  to  coin  money  under  the 
Articles  of  Confederation,  but  it  had  no  funds  with  which  to 
buy  bullion  or  to  erect  and  operate  a  mint.  It  could, 
however,,  obtain  reports  from  its  administrative  officers  and 
committees  of  its  own  body.  After  several  schemes  had 
been  brought  to  its  notice,  Jefferson,  as  chairman  of  a  com- 
mittee to  whom  a  plan  propounded  by  Gouverneur  Morris 
had  been  referred,  made  an  elaborate  report  upon  which  the 
existing  monetary  system  of  the  United  States  is  founded. 
Jeffersop  proposed  that  a  dollar  of  the  value  of  the  Spanish 
milled  dollar  should  be  the  unit  of  value,  and  that  the  decimal 
system  should  be  used  in  its  division  —  each  dollar  containing 
one  hundred  cents.  Morris  had  proposed  a  much  more  minute 
subdivision,  and  the  large  value  of  the  cent  was  the  weak  point 


IV.]  Inter-state  Conflicts^  1783-88. 


121 


in  Jefferson's  scheme.  This  report  was  made  in  1786.  Noth- 
ing was  done  in  the  matter  at  the  time,  but  the  later  coinage 
was  based  on  the  recommendations  of  this  committee.  It 
may  be  mentioned,  as  showing  the  conservatism  of  the  Ameri- 
can people,  that  the  price  of  goods  is  still  estimated  in  some 
of  the  older  towns  at  so  many  shillings  and  pence. 

The  real  cause  of  the  downfall  of  the  Confederation  and  the 
establishment  of  "a  more  perfect  union"  was 
not,  however,  any  of  the  inconveniences  above  p^l^o^^^"*^*^*^ 
noted.  It  is  rather  to  be  found  in  the  conviction 
which  gained  ground  rapidly  in  1786-87  that  the  several  States 
could  not  long  continue  on  the  existing  basis  without  civil  war. 
This  conviction  was  forced  on  the  people  by  a  commercial  war 
already  in  progress  between  several  members  of  the  Confed- 
eration, and  also  by  a  determination  to  resist  the  payment  of 
debts,  by  force  if  necessary,  which  was  shown  by  the  people  of 
some  sections  of  the  country.  As  each  State  managed  its  own 
commercial  relations,  it  was  natural  that  in  a  period  of  great 
distress  the  people  of  each  State  should  try  to  protect  their  own 
interests,  even  at  the  expense  of  other  members  of  the  Con- 
federation. Two  examples  will  best  illustrate  this  point.  To 
protect  the  vegetable  growers  of  New  York  from  the  competition 
of  the  market-gardeners  of  New  Jersey,  the  New  York  legislature 
passed  an  act  levying  duties  on  all  vegetables  brought  into  the 
State,  and  obliging  New  Jersey  vessels  to  enter  and  clear  as 
vessels  from  London  and  other  foreign  ports  were  obliged  to  do. 
New  Jersey,  in  retaliation,  levied  a  tax  of  three  hundred  and 
sixty  pounds  per  annimi  on  a  lighthouse  which  New  York  had 
erected  at  Sandy  Hook,  which  was  within  the  limits  of  New 
Jersey.  Another  instance  of  the  same  inter-state  rivalry  was  to 
be  seen  in  the  relations  of  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut. 
To  protect  her  shipping  and  manufacturing  interests  Massa- 
chusetts passed  a  severe  navigation  act  designed  to  keep  English 
goods  and  traders  out  of  that  State.    Connecticut  thereupon 


122 


The  Constitution. 


[Chap. 


repealed  every  trade  law  on  her  statute  book,  thereby  inviting 
foreign  trade  to  her  harbours  and,  owing  to  the  facilities  of 
overland  smuggling,  completely  frustrated  the  policy  of  Massa- 
chusetts. 

The  other  cause,  which  forced  on  the  conviction  above- 
mentioned,  was  the  determined  opposition  to 
bemon^'178^-87  payment  of  debts  which  now  manifested 

itself  in  the  Carolinas  and  in  Massachusetts. 
The  latter  State  was  for  the  moment  at  the  mercy  of  the  worst 
elements  of  her  population.  It  is  a  curious  fact  that  all  the 
small  rebellions  in  the  history  of  the  United  States  have  been 
the  work  of  the  tillers  of  the  soil  and  not  of  the  rabble  of  the 
towns.  This  may  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  the  au- 
thorities of  the  towns,  being  better  provided  with  facilities 
for  quelling  disturbances,  can  crush  an  insurrection  before  it 
passes  the  mob  stage.  At  any  rate,  the  rebellion  at  this  time 
(1786-87)  was  the  work  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  thinly  settled 
western  portion  of  Massachusetts.  Led  by  Daniel  Shays, 
these  men  prevented  the  holding  of  the  courts  at  Worcester. 
Had  it  not  been  for  the  prompt  vigour  displayed  by  Governor 
Bowdoin  and  General  Lincoln,  the  movement  might  have 
assumed  formidable  proportions.  As  it  was,  the  intrinsic  im- 
portance of  Shays' s  Rebellion  was  entirely  overshadowed  by 
the  tremendous  effect  it  produced  on  the  public  mind.  It 
brought  the  nation  to  its  senses,  and  made  the  formation  of 
a  strong  government  possible.  The  chain  of  events,  which 
led  to  the  holding  of  the  Federal  Convention,  well  illustrates, 
however,  upon  what  extraneous  circumstances  the  fate  of 
nations  sometimes  depends. 

The  southern  boundary  of  Maryland,  according  to  the 
TheAiexan-     charter  of  1 63 2,  was  the  southern  bank  of  the 
driaandAn-       Potomac  Rivcr,  from  its  mouth  to  its  source, 
ventions^^*^"       That  frontier  was  chosen  probably  with  a  view 
1785-86.  tQ  securing  important  advantages  to  Maryland, 


nr.] 


Shays' s  Rebellion, 


123 


whose  grantee  had  great  influence  at  the  court  of  the  first 
Charles.  It  may  also  have  been  supposed  that  disputes 
about  the  navigation  of  the  river  would  be  less  likely  to 
arise  if  the  control  of  the  navigation  of  the  Potomac  was  in 
the  hands  of  one  colony.  As  the  event  showed,  the  arrange- 
ment offered  unusual  advantages  to  the  illicit  trader.  This 
gave  rise  to  incessant  disputes  and  aroused  great  irritation 
among  the  people  of  Virginia  who  were  much  more  interested 
in  the  navigation  of  the  river  than  were  the  Marylanders,  as  the 
commerce  of  Maryland  was  mainly  carried  on  through  Balti- 
more. In  1785,  through  the  efforts  of  Madison  and  Jefferson, 
commissioners  from  the  two  States  met  at  Alexandria  in 
Virginia  to  frame,  if  possible,  regulations  for  the  use  of  the 
river.  They  soon  adjourned  to  Mount  Vernon,  Washington's 
mansion  near  Alexandria.  Their  discussions  inevitably  ex- 
tended to  the  desirability  of  similar  navigation  laws  and  customs 
duties  for  all  the  States  bordering  on  Chesapeake  Bay.  They 
therefore  submitted  a  supplementary  report  suggesting  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  joint  commission  every  second  year  to  consider 
and  report  on  these  and  kindred  topics.  Washington's  part  in 
this  proposal  is  not  known;  but  he  certainly  approved  of  it.  At 
that  moment  the  people  of  the  Middle  States  were  disturbed 
by  the  commercial  outlook.  The  Maryland  Assembly  adopted 
the  plan  and  invited  Pennsylvania  and  Delaware  to  join  in 
appointing  commissioners.  In  Virginia,  the  scheme  encoun- 
tered fierce  opposition.  Finally,  however,  a  resolution  was 
passed  inviting  all  the  States  to  send  delegates  to  a  convention  to 
consider  the  trade  and  commerce  of  the  United  States  as  a  whole. 
This  convention  met  at  Annapolis  in  1786.  Only  five  States 
were  represented  and  no  New  England  or  southernmost  States 
were  among  them.  Instead  of  proceeding  with  the  business  for 
which  the  convention  had  been  summoned,  the  delegates  passed 
a  resolution  providing  for  a  convention  to  amend  the  Articles 
of  Confederation  to  be  held  at  Philadelphia  in  the  next  year, 


124 


The  Constitution. 


[Chap. 


1787.  To  this  new  convention  Virginia  at  once  appointed 
delegates.  Five  other  States,  including  Pennsylvania,  also 
appointed  their  representatives  before  Congress  could  bring 
itself  to  approve  the  plan  and  to  recommend  the  States  to 
elect  delegates.  On  the  day  that  Congress  passed  this  vote, 
Massachusetts  joined  Virginia  and  the  other  five  States  in 
appointing  delegates.  The  other  States  now  rapidly  came 
into  line,  Rhode  Island  alone  refusing  to  be  represented  in 
the  convention. 

The  Federal  Convention  met  at  Philadelphia,  May  25th, 
The  Federal  ^7^7?  ^^^^  ^^^ty  scssions,  with  brief  adjourn- 
Convention,  ments  to  facilitate  the  work  of  committees,  until 
September  17th.  Its  sessions  were  secret,  and 
it  was  not  until  its  final  adjournment  that  the  people  knew 
anything  about  the  proposed  change  of  government.  For 
many  years  the  perplexities  which  surrounded  its  deliberations 
were  Httle  understood.  Indeed,  it  was  not  until  1840,  when 
Madison's  notes  of  the  debates  were  pubHshed,  that  historical 
students  could  trace  the  various  steps  which  resulted  in  the 
formation  of  the  most  successful  written  Constitution^  the 
world  has  yet  seen. 

Few  deliberative  bodies  have  contained  so  many  men  of 
experience  and  knowledge.  Among  its  members 
of  the  Constitu-  wcrc  Washington  and  FrankHn.  From  Virginia 
work"^  besides  Washington  there  also  came  James  Madi- 

son and  George  Mason.  One  misses  the  deft 
hand  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  who  at  the  time  was  American 
Minister  at  Paris.  Nor  was  John  Adams,  Massachusetts' 
constitutional  lawyer,  present,  as  he  was  Minister  at  London. 
But  Massachusetts  sent  a  delegation  of  able  and  experienced 
men,  Gerry,  King,  Strong,  and  Gorham,  who,  acting  under 
the  stimulus  of  Shays's  Rebellion,  advocated-  the  formation  of 
a  strong  centraUzed  government.    Among  the  Pennsylvania 

1  See  Appendix  III. 


IV.]  The  Federal  Convention^  lySy.  125 


members  were  James  Wilson  and  Robert  Morris.  Of  the 
younger  men  should  be  mentioned  Alexander  Hamilton  and 
Gouverneur  Morris  :  —  to  the  latter's  skill  in  phraseology  the 
Constitution  owes  much  of  its  success.  The  secret  discus- 
sions were  straightforward,  earnest,  and  patriotic.  The  reader 
of  Madison's  Debates  is  impressed  by  the  absence  of  a  priori 
reasoning.  Most  of  the  arguments  were  drawn  from  ex- 
perience; and  the  Constitution,  instead  of  having  been  "  struck 
off  at  a  given  time  from  the  brain  and  purpose  of  man,"  as 
Mr  Gladstone  once  said,  was  evolved  from  the  experience  of 
the  English  race  in  the  two  worlds.  The  framers  of  the 
Constitution  were  content  to  lay  down  general  rules  confiding 
large  discretion  to  the  three  branches  of  the  new  government. 
They  recognized  that  they  were  legislating  for  generations  to 
come;  and  that  the  Constitution  should  be  elastic  and  sus- 
ceptible of  many  different  interpretations  or  it  would  be  con- 
stantly changed  to  suit  the  varying  needs  of  succeeding 
generations.  They  tried,  on  the  one  hand,  to  make  revolution 
unnecessary  by  providing  for  the  amendment  of  the  Consti- 
tution. On  the  other  hand,  the  cumbersome  machinery 
for  securing  amendments  made  amendments  barely  possible. 
Over  seventeen  hundred  amendments  to  the  Constitution  have 
been  proposed  in  an  official  manner.  Of  these  fifteen  have 
been  adopted.  The  first  ten  of  them,  forming  a  Bill  of 
Rights,  were  declared  in  force  December  15th,  1791.  The 
Eleventh  Amendment  (1798)  limited  the  power  of  the  Supreme 
Court.  The  Twelfth  Amendment  (1804)  provided  a  new 
method  for  the  election  of  the  President  and  Vice-President. 
The  other  three  amendments  (1865-70)  were  the  outcome  of 
the  Civil  War  and  made  such  changes  as  were  necessary  to 
make  the  Constitution  the  organic  law  of  a  non-slaveholding 
country.  The  fact  that  from  1804  to  1865  —  a  period  of  sixty 
years  —  there  was  no  amendment  made  to  the  instrument  shows 
at  once  its  great  stability  and  at  the  same  time  its  elasticity. 


126 


The  Constitution. 


[Chap. 


Both  of  these  qualities  are  due  to  the  institution  known  as 
the  Supreme  Court  more  largely  than  to  anything  else,  except 
the  natural  conservatism  of  the  American  people. 

The  colonists  were  not  familiar  with  unrestricted  legisla- 
tures like  the  British  Parliament:  laws  passed 
Court.  ^"^^^"^^  colonial  assembly  might  be  annulled  by 

the  Privy  Council.  Nor  were  they  acquainted 
with  unlimited  and  irresponsible  executive  power:  every 
colonial  governor  was  restricted  in  the  exercise  of  his  authority 
by  his  coijimission  and  instructions  and  by  colonial  acts.  It 
was  therefore  natural  for  the  Constitution  makers,  when  they 
came  to  provide  for  the  executive  and  legislative  branches  of 
a  consolidated  government,  to  provide  also  a  tribunal  or 
tribunals  which  could  review  the  acts  of  the  other  two  branches 
of  the  government.  The  Supreme  Court  consists  of  judges 
appointed  by  the  President,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent 
of  the  Senate  —  this  being  the  usual  manner  of  appointment  to 
all  the  higher  administrative  offices.  But  at  the  moment  of 
appointment,  the  comparison  between  the  judges  and  the  other 
officials  ceases.  The  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  hold  their 
office  during  good  behaviour  and  receive  salaries  "which  shall 
not  be  diminished  during  their  continuance  in  office."  These 
conditions  apply  to  other  judges  of  the  United  States  Courts 
as  well.  But  the  Supreme  Court  Judges  have  a  further  pro- 
tection in  the  fact  that  the  Supreme  Court  exists  by  express 
grant  contained  in  the  Constitution.  All  other  United  States 
Courts  and  Judges  'exist  by  virtue  of  Acts  of  Congress  which 
may  be  repealed;  and  Circuit  Court  Judges  have  been 
"  legislated  out  of  office  '\  in  this  manner.  The  Supreme  Court 
Judges  can  be  ousted  from  office  only  by  impeachment, 
requiring  the  consent  of  a  majority  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, and  of  two-thirds  of  the  Senate.  The  Judges  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  enjoy,  therefore,  a  more 
secure  position  than  any  other  man  or  body  of  men  in  the 


IV.] 


The  Supreme  Court, 


127 


United  States.  The  jurisdiction  of  the  Court  is  confined  to 
cases  "arising  under  this  Constitution."  It  has  no  initiative; 
nor  is  it  consulted  before  the  passage  of  a  law  or  the  per- 
formance of  an  administrative  act.  Furthermore,  it  has  no 
common-law  criminal  jurisdiction,  but  is  limited  to  the  subjects 
mentioned  in  the  Constitution.  The  Court  has  always  regarded 
the  Constitution  as  a  fundamental  law  and  has  interpreted  it  as 
such.  The  first  question  to  be  decided  in  most  cases,  there- 
fore, is  whether  the  Act  of  Congress  or  of  a  State  Legislature, 
under  which  a  case  has  arisen,  is  constitutional  or  uncon- 
stitutional. If  the  Court  decides  that  the  law  is  unconsti- 
tutional and  therefore  of  no  force,  that  is  an  end  of  the  matter. 
The  attentive  student  of  the  history  of  the  United  States  will 
become  conscious,  as  he  proceeds  in  his  study,  that  the 
Supreme  Court  from  time  to  time  has  changed  its  mind.  Of 
course  this  change  must  be  very  gradual,  as  in  the  ordinary 
course  of  human  life  the  majority  of  the  Court  would  change 
very  slowly.  The  number  of  the  judges  is  not  mentioned  in 
the  Constitution.  The  Court,  therefore,  might  be  "  swamped  " 
by  the  appointment  of  more  judges,  provided  the  legislative 
and  executive  branches  were  convinced  of  the  expediency  of 
the  measure.  But  so  much  veneration  and  respect  has  gathered 
about  the  Supreme  Court  that  such  a  proceeding  would  be 
regarded  as  li'ttle  short  of  revolution.  In  other  respects,  also, 
governmental  ideas  change  or  may  change  very  slowly. 

This  is  due  mainly  to  the  varying  terms  of  office  of  the 
President,  of  the  Senators,  and  of  the  Members         , ^ 

'  '  Stability  of 

of  the  House  of  Representatives.  The  Repre-  the  oovern- 
sentatives  are  elected  every  alternat;^  year  and 
serve  for  two  years.  The  President  is  elected  for  four  years. 
The  Senators  are  elected  by  the  State  legislatures  for  the  still 
longer  term  of  six  years.  Moreover  one-third  of  the  Senate  is 
renewed  each  second  year.  Thus  it  often  happens  that  th,e 
President  and  one  house  of  Congress  will  belong  to  one  party, 


128 


The  Constitution, 


[Chap. 


while  the  other  house  will  be  in  the  hands  of  the  opposition. 
It  has  frequently  happened  that  the  President  has  belonged 
to  one  party  and  the  majority  in  both  houses  of  Congress  to 
the  other.  Up  to  the  present  time  it  may  be  said  that  these 
things  have  all  acted  to  increase  the  stability  of  the  govern- 
ment and  to  prevent  inconsiderate  legislation.  For  it  is 
evident  that  the  Senate  stands  between  any  sudden  desire  for 
legislation  of  a  particular  kind  and  the  fulfilment  of  the 
desire.  If,  however,  the  people  continue  to  desire  certain 
measures  passed,  the  Senate  in  time  will  surely  come  to  the 
same  way  of  thinking. 

The  government  established  under  this  Constitution  proved 

strength  uuusually  stroug  from  the  very  beginning, 

of  the  new  Many  things  tended  to  produce  this  strength. 
Government.  Among  the  rest,  the  wide  scope  of  the  grant  of 
power  to  the  national  legislature.  The  best  way  to  understand 
this  grant  of  power  is  to  turn  to  the  Constitution,  Article  i. 
Section  8.    The  first  clause  of  that  section  reads  as  follows: 

Congress  shall  have  power  to  lay  and  collect  taxes,  duties, 
imposts,  and  excises,  to  pay  the  debts  and  provide  for  the 
common  defence  and  general  welfare  of  the  United  States." 
Passing  over  the  remainder  of  the  section  one  comes  to  the  last 
clause  which  authorizes  Congress  to  make  all  laws  which  shall 
be  necessary  and  proper  for  carrying  into  execution  the  foregoing 
powers,  and  all  other  powers  vested  by  this  Constitution  in  the 
Government  of  the  United  States,  or  in  any  department  or  officer 
thereof."  It  must  be  plain,  no  matter  what  construction  the 
Supreme  Court  placed  on  the  words,  that  laws  "necessary  and 
proper  "  to  provide  for  the  levying  of  "  taxes,  ...  to  provide  for 
the  general  welfare  "  cover  an  enormous  field.  The  Supreme 
Court,  moreover,  has  interpreted  the  phrase  "  necessary  and 
proper  "  in  a  very  broad  manner,  and  thus  Congress  has  exer- 
cised most  important  functions,  many  of  which  may  never  have 
occurred  to  the  members  of  the  Federal  Convention. 


IV.] 


The  President, 


129 


The  United  States  government  is  often  spoken  of  as  if  the 
executive,  legislative,  and  judiciary  were  distinct 
branches.    As  a  matter  of  fact  this  is  not  true  powers!^" 
of  the  first  two  of  the  three  branches.  The 
President  is  the  chief  executive  officer  of  the  nation.    But  he 
also  enjoys  great  legislative  power,  as  by  his  veto  he  can  compel 
a  reconsideration  of  any  act  of  Congress;  but  an  act  which 
commands  a  two-thirds  majority  at  this  second  consideration 
becomes  law  without  the  President's  consent.  Furthermore, 
the  President  shares  a  considerable  portion  of  his  executive 
powers  with  the  Senate.    Thus  no  treaty  can  be  ratified  with- 
out the  consent  of  two-thirds  of  the  Senators  present,  at  the 
time  the  vote  is  taken.    The  consent  of  the  Senate  is  also 
necessary  to  all  appointments  to  the  higher  offices. 

The  President  in  other  respects  possesses  ample  powers. 
He  acts  on  his  own  responsibility.  He  may 
consult  the  heads  of  departments,  but  need  not  dent  oAhe^^^ 
follow  their  advice.  At  his  inauguration  he  takes  ^^J^^^^n 
an  oath  prescribed  in  the  Constitution  to  pre- 
serve, protect,  and  defend  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States."  The  President  is  the  "Commander-in-Chief  of  the 
army  and  navy  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  militia  of 
the  several  States,  when  called  into  the  actual  service  of  the 
United  States."  He  must  take  care  that  the  laws  be  "faith- 
fully executed"  and  he  has  power  to  grant  pardons  for 
"offences  against  the  United  States,  except  in  cases  of  im- 
peachment." In  time  of  war,  especially  of  civil  war,  the  powers 
exercised  by  the  President  as  Commander-in-Chief  —  for  the 
defence  of  the  Constitution  —  may  be  those  of  a  dictator.  For 
instance,  it  was  by  virtue  of  these  "war  powers"  that  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  freed  all  the  slaves  in  the  portions  of  the 
United  States  then  in  insurrection.  Indeed,  it  is  difficult  to 
conceive  of  a  limit  to  the  power  of  a  President  in  sudden 
emergencies,  as  when,  for  example,  the  "faithful  execution" 
C  A.  9 


I30 


TJie  Constitution. 


[Chap. 


of  the  laws  is  interrupted  by  a  mob.  Furthermore,  in  the 
exercise  of  these  powers,  the  question  of  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  United  States  and  of  the  several  States  does  not  arise. 
Persons  obstructing  the  execution  of  the  laws  of  the  United 
States  are  amenable  to  the  United  States  —  be  they  State 
governors  or  railroad  employees  —  and  the  President,  for  the 
defence  of  the  Constitution^  concerns  himself  with  the  indi- 
vidual and  not  with  the  State. 

An  attempt  was  made  in  the  Constitution,  however,  to 
Federal  and      Separate  the  functions  of  the  United  States  and 
state  jurisdic-     of  the  Several  States.    To  this  end  the  States 

were  forbidden  (Article  i.  Section  lo)  to  have 
any  negotiations  with  foreign  States,  coin  money,  make  any- 
thing except  gold  and  silver  a  "tender  in  payment  of  debts," 
pass  any  law  "impairing  the  obligation  of  contracts,"  etc. 
Congress  (Section  9)  is  also  forbidden  to  perform  many  acts, 
one  or  two  of  which  we  shall  notice  hereafter. 

Like  all  great  political  settlements,  the  Constitution  was 

largely  the  result  of  compromises.  Three  of 
promises"^"        these  Compromises  are  of  great  importance  and 

require  some  detailed  description.  At  first  it 
was  proposed  that  the  representation  in  both  houses  of  Con- 
gress should  be  apportioned  according  to  wealth.  This  was  to 
avoid  one  of  the  great  faults  of  the  existing  system  which  gave 
to  the  small  States,  Delaware,  for  instance,  an  equal  voice  with 
the  large  States  like  Virginia  or  Pennsylvania.  Naturally,  the 
delegates  from  the  small  States  disliked  this  radical  departure. 
The  matter  was  settled  by  giving  each  State  equal  representation 
in  the  Senate,  and  providing  for  an  apportionment  of  represen- 
tation in  the  lower  house  according  to  population.  But  when 
it  came  to  the  question  of  apportioning  taxation,  the  Southern 
members  contended  that  as  slave  labour  was  less  productive 
than  free  labour,  taxes  should  not  be  apportioned  according  to 
population,  but  according  to  some  other  ratio.    Finally,  it  was 


IV.]  The  Adoption  of  the  Constitution,  131 


agreed  to  count  slaves  at  three-fifths  only  of  their  number  in  the 
apportionment  both  of  representation  and  direct  taxation. 

The  other  question  also  turned  on  slavery.    The  North  was 
desirous  that  the  new  federal  government  should  reguia 
have  power  to  regulate  commerce.    The  South    tion  of  com- 
hesitated  to  give  this  power  to  Congress  lest  it 
should  be  used  to  prohibit  the  slave-trade.    In  the  end  it  was 
arranged  by  giving  Congress  power  over  commerce,  except  that 
the  slave-trade  might  not  be  prohibited  before  1808.  It 
remains  only  to  note  that  one  of  the  final  clauses  (Article  vi) 
declares  that  the  Constitution  and  the  laws  and  treaties  made 
in  pursuance  thereof  "shall  be  the  supreme  law  of  the  land." 
When  read  in  connection  with  the  preamble :     We  the  people 
of  the  United  States  ...  do  ordain  and  establish  this  Constitu- 
tion," the  supremacy  of  the  United  States  over  the  States 
under  the  Constitution  is  apparent. 

The  Federal  Convention  had  been  authorized  by  Congress 
to  amend  the  Articles  of  Confederation.  They 
had  exceeded  this  commission,  and  the  Consti-    ^  °^ 

ncation. 

tution,  therefore,  as  it  came  from  the  Convention, 
was  scarcely  more  than  a  plan  for  a  new  government  proposed 
by  a  most  respectable  body  of  private  gentlemen.  It  derived 
no  binding  force  whatever  from  their  action.  They  proposed 
that  it  should  be  submitted  to  the  people  of  the  several  States 
by  the  legislatures  thereof,  and  that,  when  nine  States  should 
■  have  ratified  it,  it  should  be  established  between  them.  The 
constitutional  position  of  the  Constitution,  if  one  may  use 
the  phrase,  was  so  admirably  described  by  Mr  Madison  that 
it  will  be  well  to  read  his  words:  "The  Constitution  as  it 
came  from  the  Convention,"  he  said  in  1796,  "was  nothing 
more  than  the  draft  of  a  plan;  nothing  but  a  dead  letter,  until 
life  and  validity  were  breathed  into  it  by  the  voice  of  the  people 
speaking  through  the  several  State  conventions  which  accepted 
and  ratified  it." 

9—2 


132 


The  Constitution, 


[Chap. 


The  action  of  the  Federal  Convention  was  no  sooner  known 
Ratification  ^^^^  parties  were  formed,  those  favouring 
of  the  Consti-  the  new  form  of  government  calling  them- 
selves  Federalists,  their  opponents  being  known 
as  Anti-Federalists.  This  nomenclature  was  not  always  an 
accurate  description  of  the  contending  parties.  Patrick  Henry, 
for  example,  opposed  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  on  the 
ground  that  the  government  to  be  organized  under  it  would  be 
a  consolidated  government  and  not  a  federal  government  at  all. 
He  was  in  favour  of  the  establishment  of  a  federal  government. 
The  issue,  however,  was  really  between  the  adoption  of  this 
constitution  or  anarchy,  although  to  many  persons  at  the  time 
it  seemed  to  be  a  contest  between  those  favouring  aristocracy 
and  those  favouring  democracy.  The  Confederation  could  not 
last  much  longer.  This  being  the  case  the  people  reluctantly 
assented  to  the  Constitution,  many  of  the  State  conventions 
proposing  amendments.  The  papers  teemed  with  articles  for 
and  against  ratification.  The  ablest  for  the  adoption  of  the 
plan  were  from  the  pens  of  Alexander  Hamilton,  James  Madi- 
son, and  John  Jay.  These  were  gathered  into  a  more  perma- 
nent form  in  a  book  entitled  the  Foederalist  which  remains 
the  best  commentary  on  the  Constitution.  This  is  the  more 
remarkable,  as  Hamilton,  the  principal  writer  of  these  essays, 
had  little  faith  in  the  Constitution  as  it  was  adopted,  but  de- 
sired a  much  stronger  form  of  government.  On  the  other  side 
the  most  instructive  papers  were  Richard  Henry  Lee's  Letters 
of  the  Federalist  Farmer^  and  the  speeches  delivered  by  Patrick 
Henry  in  the  Virginia  Ratifying  Convention  —  the  latter  may  be 
found  in  Eliott's  Debates  or  in  Henry's  Life  of  Patrick  Henry, 
The  ratification  of  the  ninth  State,  New  Hampshire,  was 
made  on  June  21st,  1788.  A  few  days  later  Virginia  ratified, 
the  messengers  conveying  the  respective  tidings 
The  first  ten     passing  each  other  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac. 

Amendments.       ^  o 

Preparations  were  immediately  made  for  the 


IV.]  The  First  Presidential  Election,  133 


organization  of  the  new  government.  The  first  ten  amend- 
ments, declared  in  force  in  1791,  made  good  most  of  the 
defects  complained  of  by  those  opposed  to  ratification.  Jt 
will  be  well,  therefore,  briefly  to  notice  them  here.  The 
changes  are  all  in  the  nature  of  limitations  on  the  power  of 
Congress.  For  example,  Congress  is  now  forbidden  to  make 
laws  "  respecting  an  establishment  of  religion,"  or  abridging  the 
freedom  of  the  press.  Another  clause  prohibits  general  war- 
rants. Other  amendments  secure  jury  trial,  prohibit  excessive 
bail  and  cruel  or  unusual  punishments.  The  most  important 
perhaps  are  the  ninth  and  tenth  amendments  to  the  effect  that 
the  "  enumeration  ...  of  certain  rights  shall  not  be  construed 
to  deny  or  disparage  others  retained  by  the  people,"  and  re- 
serving to  the  States  or  to  the  people  "  powers  not  delegated 
to  the  United  States  by  the  Constitution  nor  prohibited  by  it 
to  the  States." 

There  could  be  no  question  as  to  the  first  President,  and 
Washington  received  the  unanimous  vote  of  all 
the  electors.  As  to  the  Vice-Presidency,  there  anYAdam?°" 
was  no  such  unanimity  of  opinion.  John  Adams 
of  Massachusetts  was  the  leading  candidate.  But  he  had  lived 
long  abroad  and  had  given  great  offence  by  using  the  phrase 
"well-born  "  in  a  book  written  in  defence  of  the  State  Consti- 
tutions. It  was  feared  that  he  might  have  become  enamoured 
of  English  institutions.  The  mode  of  election  of  President 
and  Vice-President  prescribed  by  the  Constitution  was  found  to 
be  faulty.  Electors  were  to  be  chosen  in  the  several  States  who 
should,  on  a  given  day,  vote  by  ballot  for  two  persons,  one  of 
whom  should  not  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  same  State  as  the 
elector.  The  person  receiving  the  largest  number  of  votes 
(provided  it  was  a  majority)  should  be  President,  the  second 
on  the  list  should  be  Vice-President.  Hamilton,  fearing  lest 
Adams  should  receive  more  votes  than  Washington,  intrigued 
with  some  of  the  electors  to  induce  them  to  cast  one  of  their 


134 


The  Constitution. 


[Chap.  iv. 


votes  for  some  person  other  than  Adams.  Probably  Hamilton 
had  no  sinister  intentions  in  taking  this  action.  But  it  came  to 
the  ears  of  Adams  and  gave  him  a  distrust  of  Hamilton,  which 
bore  bitter  fruit  some  ten  years  later.  Notwithstanding  its 
defects,  this  continued  to  be  the  method  of  choosing  President 
and  Vice-President  until  1804  (see  below,  p.  157). 


(tinthntiac  t'mverxih-  I'les 


NOTES  TO  MAP  II. 


pgbedhxzh'r.    Original  bowmlary  of  the  United  States  according  to 

the  Treaty  ol'  17SJ  (p.  101  and  Map  I), 
p  g  b  e.    This  boundary  was  determined  in  1841  as  marked  g  e.    The  hne 

contended  for  by  the  British  crossed  Maine  a  little  to  the  north  of  the 

46th  parallel.    The  American  claim  is  shown  by  line  g  b  e.  (See 

p.  124  and  Map  I.) 
d  h.    The  line  according  to  the  treaty  was  to  run  due  west  from  the  Lake 

of  the  Woods  to  the  Mississippi. 
XZh!  r.    Spain  claimed  as  far  north  as  32°  30',  between  the  Mississippi 

and  Chattahoochee  rivers,  but  abandoned  her  claim  by  treaty  in  1795. 
S  V  a'  b'  c  d' d  h  X  z  li'  p'.    I'or  the  limits  of  Louisiana,  see  p.  166  and 

foil. 

0  X  Z  0.    Seized  by  the  United  States  in  1810  {p.  183). 

0  Z  h'  p'.  Seized  by  the  United  States  in  181 2  (p.  183).  By  the  treaty  of 
1819  with  S|)ain,  tlie  United  States  acquired  a  clear  title  to  the 
])cninsula  of  Florida  and  to  all  land  east  of  the  Mississippi  and  south 
of  X  z  h'  r.  The  United  States  abandoned  all  claim  to  lands  south  of 
the  line  n  a' m  b'  1  and  Spain  ceded  whatever  rights  it  possessed  to 
land  north  of  this  line  to  the  United  States  (p.  198). 

Texas.  The  southern  boundary  of  the  State  of  Texas  as  one  of  the  Mexican 
Slates  was  a  little  to  the  south  of  the  Nueces  River.  The  portions 
of  (lie  lerritories  of  New  Mexico  and  Kansas  to  the  south  and  east  of 
lines  V  a'  n  were  ceded  to  the  United  States  by  Texas  in  1850  (p.  228). 

t  u  a"  V  s.  Boundary  between  the  United  States  and  Mexico  by  the  Treaty 
of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo,  1848. 

a""  u  a"  V  a'".    The  "  (iadsden  Purchase  "  1853. 

d  d'  c.    Northern  limit  of  the  United  States  by  Treaty  of  18 18  (p.  196). 
c  b  a.    Northern  limit  of  United  States  west  of  the  crest  of  the  Rocky 

Mountains,  according  to  the  Oregon  Treaty,  1846,  as  interpreted  by 

the  German  Emperor,  187 1  (p.  236). 


NOTES  TO  MAP  II. 


pg'bedhxzh'r.  Original  boundary  of  the  United  States  according  to 
the  Treaty  of  1783  (p.  102  and  Map  I). 

P  g  b  e.  This  boundary  was  determined  in  1842  as  marked  g  e.  The  line 
contended  for  by  the  British  crossed  Maine  a  little  to  the  north  of  the 
46th  parallel.  The  American  claim  is  shown  by  line  g  b  e.  (See 
p.  224  and  Map  I.) 

d  h.    The  line  according  to  the  treaty  was  to  run  due  west  from  the  Lake 

of  the  Woods  to  the  Mississippi, 
X  Z  li'  r.    Spain  claimed  as  far  north  as  32°  30',  between  the  Mississippi 

and  Chattahoochee  rivers,  but  abandoned  her  claim  by  treaty  in  1795. 
S  V  a'  b'  c  d' d  li  X  z     p'.    For  the  limits  of  Louisiana,  see  p.  166  and 

foil. 

0X20.    Seized  by  the  United  States  in  1810  (p.  183). 

0  Z  li'  p'o  Seized  by  the  United  States  in  181 2  (p.  183).  By  the  treaty  of 
1819  with  Spain,  the  United  States  acquired  a  clear  title  to  the 
peninsula  of  Florida  and  to  all  land  east  of  the  Mississippi  and  south 
of  xzh'  The  United  States  abandoned  all  claim  to  lands  south  of 
the  line  n  a' m  b'  1  and  Spain  ceded  whatever  rights  it  possessed  to 
land  north  of  this  line  to  the  United  States  (p.  198), 

Texas.  The  southern  boundary  of  the  State  of  Texas  as  one  of  the  Mexican 
States  was  a  little  to  the  south  of  the  Nueces  River.  The  portions 
of  the  territories  of  New  Mexico  and  Kansas  to  the  south  and  east  of 
lines  V  a'  n  were  ceded  to  the  United  States  by  Texas  in  1850  (p.  228). 

t  u  a"  V  s.  Boundary  between  the  United  States  and  Mexico  by  the  Treaty 
of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo,  1848. 

a'"'  u  a"  V  a"'.   The    Gadsden  Purchase  "  1853. 

d  d'  c.    Northern  limit  of  the  United  States  by  Treaty  of  i8i8  (p.  196). 
c  b  a.    Northern  limit  of  United  States  west  of  the  crest  of  the  Rocky 

Mountains,  according  to  the  Oregon  Treaty,  1846,  as  interpreted  by 

the  German  Emperor,  187 1  (p.  236). 


CHAPTER  V. 


THE  NEW  NATION. 

Slowly,  as  befitted  the  successor  of  the  Confederation,  the 
new  governmental  organization  came  into  exist- 
ence  —  the  moribund  Congress  of  the  Conf edera-  ton's  first  in- 
tion  prolonging  its  existence,  that  there  might  be 
no  break  in  the  continuity  of  the  lives  of  the  two 
federal  organizations.  Finally,  however,  the  two  Houses  of 
Congress  met,  the  electoral  vote  was  counted,  and  Washington 
was  inaugurated  as  the  first  President  of  the  United  States  (April 
30th,  1789).  This  first  inauguration  was  a  simple  and  impres- 
sive ceremony.  English  customs  and  traditions  were  the  rule  for 
ceremonial  and  social  intercourse  in  those  early  days.  Wash- 
ington had  been  accustomed  to  the  glitter  and  pomp  of  the 
little  court  of  the  Governor  of  Virginia;  and  he  seems  to  have 
believed  that  a  limited  appeal  to  men's  senses  in  matters  of 
dress  and  ceremonial  was  good  in  itself.  At  all  events,  the  new 
government  began  its  career  with  a  solemn  stateliness,  well 
suited  perhaps  to  the  grandeur  of  the  enterprise  and  to  the 
character  of  its  first  chief;  but  which,  before  many  years, 
proved  to  be  distasteful  to  many  voters.  As  an  example  of  this 
adherence  to  custom,  may  be  mentioned  the  speeches  with 
which  the  first  two  Presidents  were  accustomed  to  open  the 
sessions  of  Congress  —  after  the  manner  of  opening  Parliament. 
The  custom  was  also  followed  of  the  two  Houses  presenting 

135 


The  New  Nation, 


[Chap. 


addresses  in  answer  to  the  speech,  to  which  the  President 
replied  in  a  few  words  of  thanks.  As  has  been  the  case  in 
England,  it  not  infrequently  happened  that  two,  perhaps  even 
all,  of  these  documents  were  the  work  of  the  same  ready  penman. 
Then,  again,  Washington,  unlike  later  Presidents,  refused  to  be 
shaken  by  the  hand,  but  holding  his  right  hand  behind  him,  he 
bowed  stiffly  to  those  who  paid  their  respects  to  him.  These, 
and  other  things  which  savoured  somewhat  of  royalty,  were 
unfortunate,  in  that  they  gave  colour  to  the  charge  —  entirely 
without  foundation  so  far  as  Washington  and  Adams  were 
concerned  —  of  a  design  to  introduce  a  monarchical  form  of 
government.  Washington  might  well  have  been  pardoned  if 
his  head  had  been  turned.  His  birthday  was  celebrated  as  a 
holiday.  As  he  travelled  through  the  country  in  the  recesses 
of  Congress,  he  was  greeted  at  one  place  as  "Columbia's 
Saviour,"  and  sped  on  his  way  at  another  with  cries  of  "God 
bless  your  reign."  Washington,  in  1789,  was  in  no  sense  a 
party  man.  He  had  been  chosen  to  his  high  office  by  the 
unanimous  suffrage  of  the  whole  nation.  He  desired  to  heal 
the  wounds  which  the  sharp  contest  over  the  ratification  of  the 
Constitution  had  made,  and  to  interest  the  best  men  of  all 
shades  of  opinion  in  the  success  of  the  new  government. 
Franklin  was  now  an  old  man.  John  Adams  was  Vice-President, 
John  Jay  became  the  first  Chief-Justice  of  the  United  States, 
and  James  Madison  at  this  time  was  most  usefully  employed 
as  administration  leader  in  the  House  of  Representatives.  The 
most  prominent  man  not  in  political  life  was  Thomas  Jefferson, 
Minister  to  France,  but  now  at  home  on  a  leave  of  absence.  To 
him,  Washington  offered  the  foremost  place  in  the  administra- 
tion, the  Secretaryship  of  State,  which  Jefferson  accepted. 
Born  in  1743,  Jefferson  was  now  in  the  prime  of  life.  His 

political  theories,  formed  in  the  heat  of  the  con- 
jeTferson^  test  with  the  mother-land,  were  the  same  in  1 790, 

1798,  and  1825  that  they  were  in  1774  and  1776. 


Jefferson  and  Hamilton, 


137 


A  sublime  faith  in  humanity  and  a  firm  reliance  on  the  ultimate 
judgment  of  the  people  made  him  the  expounder  of  the  princi- 
ples of  democracy  in  the  crises  of  1776  and  1798.  The  means 
adopted  by  Jefferson  to  secure  his  ends  were  often  repellent  in 
the  extreme;  but  this  should  never  blind  one  to  the  ends  for 
which  he  was  working.  Jefferson  had  been  in  France  during 
the  recent  years  (1781-87)  of  weakness  and  disaster  which  had 
converted  so  many  men,  Gerry  and  Madison,  for  instance,  to 
the  cause  of  strong  government.  On  the  contrary,  an  intimate 
contact  with  the  French  Revolution  in  its  earlier  and  better 
period  had  served  to  confirm  him  in  the  opinion  that  "govern- 
ment derives  its  just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed." 

Opposed  to  Jefferson  in  every  way  was  Alexander  Hamilton, 
once  Washington's  aide-de-camp  and  now  Secre- 
tary of  the  Treasury  and  the  busiest  man  in  the  HamUton^' 
administration.  Hamilton  was  younger  than 
Jefferson,  being  at  this  time  about  thirty-three  years  of  age. 
He  was  a  native  of  the  British  West  Indies,  and  found  his  way 
to  New  York  in  search  of  an  education.  The  traditions  of 
colonial  institutions,  so  far  as  they  departed  from  English  pre- 
cedents, had  had  slight  influence  on  him.  Like  Jefferson,  he 
had  made  up  his  mind  on  political  subjects  at  an  early  period, 
and  the  events  of  1781-87  had  only  strengthened  his  a  priori 
theories.  While  only  twenty-two  years  of  age,  he  had  written 
to  Robert  Morris,  then  at  the  head  of  the  financial  administra- 
tion, proposing  to  enlist  the  influence  and  interest  of  men  of 
position  and  means  in  the  success  of  the  Revolution.  He 
proposed  to  accomplish  this  by  means  of  a  loan  and  a  national 
bank.  This  was  Hamilton's  position  ever  afterwards.  The 
following  sentences,  culled  from  speeches  he  made  in  1787, 
will  further  elucidate  his  political  opinions.  Among  "the 
essential  principles  necessary  for  the  support  of  government," 
he  numerated  (i)  "the  love  of  power";  (2)  "force,  by  which 
may  be  understood  a  coercion  of  laws  or  a  coercion  of  arms"; 


138 


The  New  Nation. 


[Chap. 


(3)  "  influence,"  —  by  which  he  did  not  mean  corruption,  but  a 
dispensation  of  those  regular  honours  and  emoluments  which 
produce  an  attachment  to  the  government.  Nevertheless  he 
quoted,  with  apparent  approval,  a  statement  which  he  attrib- 
uted to  Mr  Hume,  "  that  all  that  influence  on  the  side  of  the 
Crown,  which  went  under  the  name  of  corruption,  was  an 
essential  part  of  the  weight  which  maintained  the  equiUbrium 
of  the  [British]  Constitution."  To  Hamilton,  a  government  by 
classes  was  the  best  possible  form,  and  the  British  government, 
as  it  existed  in  1787  before  the  days  of  the  Reform  Acts,  "was 
the  best  in  the  world ;  and  he  doubted  much  whether  anything 
short  of  it  would  do  in  America."  To  him  "the  people,"  to  use 
his  own  phrase,  was  "a  great  beast."  In  1802,  not  long  before 
his  unhappy  death,  he  wrote  to  Gouverneur  Morris,  "  Every  day 
proves  to  me  more  and  more,  that  this  American  world  is  not 
meant  for  me."  The  opportunity  was  now  given  him  to  enhst 
the  influence  and  interest  of  the  moneyed  classes  in  the  success 
of  the  new  government.  As  the  ablest  man  among  the  advo- 
cates of  a  strong  government,  Hamilton  became  the  leader  of 
the  Federalists,  as  the  party  favouring  centralization  was  still 
called.  Jeflerson,  in  a  short  time,  began  the  formation  of  a  party 
devoted  to  the  spread  of  democracy.  He  was  forced  to  rely 
on  the  advocates  of  particularism  and  thus  became  the  champion 
of  the  State-rights  doctrine.  Some  writers  think  that  even  then 
there  was  nothing  incompatible  between  nationality  and  demo- 
cracy; but  it  was  not  until  theformationof  thepresent  Republican 
party  that  the  two  formed  the  basis  of  a  political  organization. 
Even  before  the  inauguration.  Congress  began  the  arduous 
_      .  task  of  establishing  the  public  credit.  The  treas- 

Organization  .  . 

of  the  Govern-  ury  was  empty  and  it  was  important  to  begin  the 
collection  of  taxes  with  the  least  possible  delay. 
On  April  8th,  1789,  two  days  after  the  appearance  of  a  quorum 
of  both  Houses  made  Congress  a  legal  body,  Madison  intro- 
duced a  resolve  which  gave  rise  to  the  first  tariff  debate,  and 


v.]  Organization  of  the  Government,  139 


to  the  first  enunciation  by  thenational  legislature  of  a  protective 
policy.  The  rates  provided  in  this  first  tariff  act  were  very 
low.  This  was  due  partly  to  the  inexperience  of  the  legislators, 
but  more  especially  to  a  feeling,  bred  by  the  history  of  the 
Confederation,  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  collect  more. 
Subsequent  acts  increased  the  rates  to  a  more  remunerative 
figure.  Ill-designed  as  the  first  tariff  act  undoubtedly  was,  the 
intention  of  the  framers  was  to  establish  a  protective  system, 
as  may  be  seen  from  the  preamble,  which  reads  as  follows : 
Whereas  it  is  necessary  for  .  .  .  the  encouragement  and  pro- 
tection of  manufactures. "  This  Act  and  a  Tonnage  Act,  which 
was  passed  soon  after,  provided  for  a  discrimination  in  favour 
of  goods  imported  in  vessels  owned  and  manned  by  citizens 
of  the  United  States,  and  levied  duties  which  practically  excluded 
foreign  vessels  from  the  coasting  trade.  It  was  also  proposed 
to  discriminate  between  vessels  flying  the  flag  of  countries 
having  commercial  treaties  with  the  United  States,  and  those 
of  countries  which  had  no  such  treaty  relations,  but  this  scheme 
was  not  carried  out.  Congress  then  provided  the  machinery 
for  carrying  on  the  great  departments  of  the  government,  con- 
tinuing in  most  cases  the  existing  system,  but  substituting 
single  departmental  heads  for  the  bureaus  then  in  existence. 
The  Federal  judiciary  was  also  organized.  The  Supreme 
Court  consisted  of  the  Chief  Justice  and  five  Associate  Justices. 
Thirteen  District  Courts,  each  presided  over  by  a  District 
Judge,  were  established.  The  country  was  furthermore  divided 
into  three  circuits,  with  courts  to  be  held  by  a  justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court  and  the  judges  of  the  district  courts  within  the 
limits  of  the  circuit.  The  jurisdiction  of  these  courts  was 
defined  and  all  necessary  arrangements  were  made  for  the 
effective  working  of  the  system.  Congress  also  determined 
what  the  salaries  of  the  officers  of  the  new  government  should 
be.  The  President's  salary  was  fixed  at  twenty-five  thousand 
dollars  a  year,  at  which  sum  it  remained  until  1873,  when  it 


140 


The  New  Nation. 


[Chap. 


was  doubled.  The  President,  in  addition,  has  always  had  a 
furnished  house  provided  at  the  national  expense,  and  from  time 
to  time  household  officers,  with  salaries  paid  out  of  the  treasury, 
have  been  provided.  The  salaries  of  the  other  high  officers 
were  arranged  on  a  very  moderate  basis.  The  Vice-President 
was  given  five  thousand  dollars  (;^i,ooo),  the  Chief  Justice  four 
thousand,  the  Associate  Justices  and  the  Secretaries  of  State 
and  of  the  Treasury  thirty-five  hundred  each.  The  members 
of  the  two  Houses  were  paid  six  dollars  a  day  for  each  day's 
service,  with  mileage  allowance  to  and  from  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment. The  Senators  had  very  high  ideas  of  the  dignity  of 
their  positions,  and  endeavoured  to  secure  a  higher  rate  of  pay 
than  that  given  to  the  Representatives.  The  matter  was  com- 
promised by  a  provision  that  after  March  4th,  1 791,  they  should 
receive  seven  dollars  instead  of  six.  But  when  that  time  came, 
the  popular  branch  of  Congress  had  acquired  so  much  strength 
that  the  discrimination  was  repealed.  The  Senators  were  also 
anxious  to  provide  high  sounding  titles  for  thq  chief  officers. 
It  was  proposed,  at  one  time,  that  the  President  should  be 
addressed  as  "His  Highness,  the  President  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  andProtector  of  their  Liberties."  Eventually, 
the  constitutional  style  of  "President  of  the  United  States" 
was  adopted.  The  Senators,  however,  for  a  while  addressed 
one  another  as  "Most  Honourable,"  but  that,  too,  was  soon 
dropped.  Curiously  enough,  some  State  governors,  lieutenant- 
governors,  mayors  of  cities,  and  other  lesser  functionaries  have 
retained  the  old  colonial  titles  of  "His  Excellency,"  " His 
Honour,"  and  the  like. 

It  was  during  the  second  session  of  the  first  Congress  that 
Ha-miiton's  elements  of  discord  and  party  division  began 

financial  to  show  themsclvcs.    Hamilton  presented  an 

elaborate  report  on  the  public  debt,  and  made 
certain  recommendations  as  to  the  best  method  of  funding  it. 
It  appeared  from  this  report  that  the  United  States  owed  over 


v.]  The  State  Debts.  141 

fifty-four  million  dollars.  Of  this,  eleven  millions  were  owed 
abroad,  a«d  these  obligations  were  usually  spoken  of  as  the 
"  foreign  debt. "  It  was  agreed  that  this  must  be  paid  according 
to  the  terms  of  the  original  contracts.  As  to  the  "domestic 
debt,"  as  that  owed  to  citizens  of  the  United  States  was  called, 
there  was  much  division  of  opinion.  This  debt  included  the 
original  principal  of  over  twenty  million  dollars  and  overdue 
interest  of  more  than  thirteen  millions.  Hamilton  proposed  to 
fund  this  portion  of  the  debt  at  par  in  obligations  of  the  new 
government.  This  was  strongly  opposed  by  many  members  of 
Congress.  The  debt  had  depreciated  to  about  one-fifth  of  its 
original  value,  and  it  was  argued  that  to  pay  the  present  holders 
of  the  debt  a  dollar  for  what  had  cost  them  twenty  cents  was 
not  only  an  uncalled  for  act  of  generosity,  but  would  work 
great  injustice  to  many  original  holders  of  the  certificates. 
Madison  proposed  an  equitable  but  probably  impracticable 
scheme.  It  was,  in  brief,  that  the  present  holders  should 
receive  the  highest  market  price,  and  the  balance,  amounting 
to  more  than  one  half  of  the  whole,  should  be  paid  to  the 
original  creditors.  This  scheme,  however,  would  have  required 
as  much  money  as  Hamilton's,  and  would  not  have  established 
the  public  credit  on  such  a  good  foundation,  and  the  Secretary's 
plan  was  adopted. 

Hamilton  had  further  proposed  that  the  debts  incurred  by 
the  States  in  the  prosecution  of  the  war  should 

^  Assumption 

be  assumed  and  funded  by  the  general  govern-  of  the  state 
ment.  This  part  of  the  plan  aroused  fierce 
opposition.  It  happened  that  there  were  great  inequalities  in 
the  proportional  amounts  of  the  State  debts.  On  the  one  hand, 
some  States  had  made  greater  sacrifices  than  others ;  and,  on 
the  other  hand,  some  States  had  enjoyed  exceptional  advantages 
in  paying  off  their  debts.  These  two  causes  combined,  in  many 
different  ways,  to  produce  the  result  that  the  Northern  States 
had  larger  debts  to  be  assumed  than  the  Southern  States.  The 


142 


The  New  Nation, 


[Chap. 


interests  of  the  two  sections  were  therefore  different.  The 
leading  motives  in  Hamilton's  mind  in  proposing  his  plan 
were  the  desirability  of  interesting  as  many  persons  as  possible 
in  the  stability  of  the  government,  and  of  concentrating  the 
sources  of  revenue  in  the  hands  of  the  central  authority. 
But  these  reasons,  which  served  to  commend  the  measure  to 
Hamilton,  only  made  it  more  distasteful  to  the  Southerners, 
who  generally  wished  for  as  weak  a  national  government  as 
was  compatible  with  safety.  So  many  interests  combined 
against  the  plan  of  assuming  the  State  debts  that  it  was 
defeated  for  a  time. 

While  the  contest  over  this  measure  was  in  progress, 
Contest  as  to    ^^^^her  Struggle,  also  arousing  bitter  sectional 
the  national        feeling,  was  going  on.    This  was  the  deter- 
capitai.  mination  of  the  permanent  seat  of  the  national 

government.  The  Constitution  provided  that  the  federal 
government  should  have  complete  control  over  a  district  of  not 
more  than  ten  miles  square,  within  which  a  national  capitol 
and  other  government  buildings  should  be  built.  The  question 
as  to  the  precise  location  of  this  little  district,  and  of  the 
temporary  seat  of  government  while  the  necessary  buildings 
were  being  erected,  seems  now-a-days  to  be  a  matter  of  small 
moment;  but  at  the  time  it  aroused  great  interest.  Congress 
was  then  sitting  at  New  York,  which  was  undoubtedly  very 
inconvenient  for  the  Southerners.  They  wished  the  permanent 
capital  to  be  placed  on  the  Potomac,  and  the  Pennsylvanians 
desired  that  Philadelphia  should  be  the  temporary  capital. 
Sectional  pride  and  convenience  influenced  the  Southern  men, 
but  the  Pennsylvanians  seem  to  have  been  actuated  by  pecuniary 
reasons  alone.  The  Northerners,  who  cared  little  for  this 
matter  and  a  great  deal  about  assumption,  believed  that  the 
Pennsylvanians,  whose  votes  had  defeated  that  measure,  had 
made  a  bargain  of  some  kind  with  the  South.  They,  therefore, 
secured  the  substitution  of  Baltimore  for  Philadelphia  as  the 


The  First  Slavery  Debates. 


143 


temporary  capital,  and  this  measure  came  to  a  sudden  stop 
also.  At  this  juncture,  Hamilton  approached  Jefferson,  who 
had  not  then  made  up  his  mind  as  to  his  future  course,  and 
suggested  that  they  should  bring  about  a  compromise.  In  the 
end,  Jefferson  secured  the  change  of  enough  Southern  votes  to 
carry  assumption,  and  Hamilton  provided  votes  to  carry  the 
Potomac-Philadelphia  scheme,  and  both  plans  passed  into  law. 

Meantime,  another  debate  had  initiated  the  discussion  of 
the  most  burning  question  of  all,  slavery.  The  ^j^^  ^^^^ 
matter  had  been  brought  up  first  in  Congress  by  slavery  de- 
a  Virginia  member,  who  proposed  that  Congress 
should  exercise  its  constitutional  right  and  levy  a  tax  on  all 
slaves  imported  into  the  country.  The  political  leaders  of 
Virginia  at  that  time  were  in  favour  of  the  abolition  of  slavery, 
but  did  not  know  how  to  bring  it  about.  The  representatives 
from  the  States  south  of  Virginia  felt  no  scruples  as  to  the 
rightfulness  of  slavery.  On  the  contrary,  they  justified  it  out  of 
the  Bible.  They  also  considered  that  Virginia  was  not  alto- 
gether disinterested  in  making  this  proposal,  as  in  all  likelihood 
she  would  be  called  upon  to  produce  slaves  for  sale  in  the 
southernmost  States  after  the  abolition  of  the  slave-trade 
should  have  closed  the  existing  source  of  supply;  and  this 
was  precisely  what  happened.  The  matter  was  then  dropped 
in  consideration  of  Southern  votes  in  favour  of  the  protective 
tariff;  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  no  tax  was  ever  imposed 
on  imported  slaves.  The  next  time  the  subject  of  slavery 
came  before  Congress,  it  appeared  in  a  form  much  more 
offensive  to  the  slave-owners.  In  1790  petitions  were  pre- 
sented from  the  Quakers  and  from  the  Abolition  Society  of 
Pennsylvania,  whose  president  was  Benjamin  Franklin.  These 
two  very  respectable  bodies  prayed  Congress  to  exercise  what- 
ever power  the  Constitution  gave  it  "to  promote  mercy  and 
justice "  toward  the  negro.  The  violence  of  the  language 
used  by  the  slave-owners'  representatives  was  extraordinary, 


144 


The  New  Nation, 


[Chap. 


and  was  scarcely  exceeded  in  the  whole  course  of  the  slavery 
struggle..  But  the  Southerners  scented  danger,  and  the  debate 
occurred  when  they  were  already  exasperated  byjth^iscussions 
of  the  assumption  and  national  capital  schemes.  Ultimately, 
after  careful  consideration  by  a  large  committee,  a  few  very 
mild  statements  were  entered  on  the  Journal  of  the  House  and 
the  matter  dropped.  In  some  measure  as  an  outcome  of  this 
discussion.  North  Carolina  stipulated,  in  her  cession  of  claims 
to  western  lands,  that  no  regulations  looking  towards  the 
abolition  of  slavery  in  that  district  should  at  any  time  be  made 
by  Congress.  In  1792,  Kentucky  was  admitted  to  the  Union 
as  a  slave  State;  in  this  way  the  Ohio  River,  forming  the 
boundary  between  that  State  and  the  territory  north-west  of 
the  River  Ohio,  separated  the  slave  and  free  territories  between 
the  Alleghaniesand  the  Mississippi — with  the  trifling  exception 
of  a  small  triangular  district  known  as  the  "Virginia  Pan- 
handle." 

The  third  session  of  the  First  Congress  was  held  at  Phila- 
delphia (Dec.  1790-Mar.  1 791).  Two  measures, 
17^1*^*  passed  at  this  time,  aroused  much  opposition  and 

brought  about  the  permanent  separation  into  the 
two  great  political  parties  which  may  be  considered  to  have 
been  in  existence  at  the  time  of  its  final  adjournment  (1791). 
These  two  measures  were  the  Act  levying  an  excise  tax  and  the 
Act  incorporating  the  first  Bank  of  the  United  States.  Assump- 
tion had  commended  itself  to  Hamilton  because  it  would 
necessitate  the  levying  of  an  excise  tax,  and,  in  this  manner, 
transfer  a  great  part  of  the  taxing  power  and  machinery  from 
the  States  to  the  federal  government.  The  tax  as  proposed 
would  be  as  inoffensive  as  such  a  tax  could  well  be,  but  its 
enforcement  would  require  inquisitorial  methods  and  the  net 
proceeds  would  be  small  in  comparison  with  the  amount  laid 
out  in  salaries  and  other  government  expenses.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  it  caused  a  small  insurrection  in  western  Pennsylvania, 


The  Excise  and  the  Bank, 


145 


which  cost  the  government  more  than  the  net  proceeds  of  the 
.  tax  for  several  years.  It  was  finally  voted,  in  spite  of  the 
protests  of  the  legislatures  of  several  of  the  Southern  States. 
The  issue  here  was  mainly  one  of  expediency.  The  questions 
involved  in  the  Bank  Charter  were  questions  of  interpretation 
of  the  Constitution,  and  went  to  the  very  bottom  of  the  whole 
form  of  the  new  government. 

Hamilton  desired  the  formation  of  a  national  bank,  re- 
sembling in  many  ways  the  Bank  of  England, 
which  had  been  in  successful  operation  for  nearly  stlt^es  Bank^ 
a  century.  Such  an  institution  would  be  a  con- 
venient resource  for  temporary  loans  and,  through  the  branches 
which  could  be  established  in  different  parts  of  the  country, 
would  be  of  great  assistance  in  collecting  the  taxes  and  in  making 
the  necessary  disbursements.  Furthermore,  as  a  large  proportion 
of  the  stock  could  be  paid  for  in  United  States  bonds,  the  market 
price  of  those  bonds  would  probably  reach  par.  Hamilton 
also  thought,  in  all  probability,  that  the  bank  would  aid  in  the 
policy  of  attaching  the  moneyed  interests  of  the  country  to  the 
national  government.  He  believed  the  measure  to  be  a  con- 
stitutional one  because  a  national  bank  was  "necessary  and 
proper  "  to  the  successful  administration  of  the  finances  of  the 
country.  Jefferson,  on  the  other  hand,  protested  against  the 
whole  scheme.  He  felt  that  its  adoption  would  increase  the 
power  and  prestige  of  the  national  government.  He  disliked 
it  also  because  he  thought  the  Constitution  should  be  strictly 
construed,  and  that  nothing  should  be  done  by  the  national  gov- 
ernment which  was  not  directly  authorized  by  that  instrument, 
since  all  powers  not  delegated  were  reserved  to  the  States 
or  to  the  people.  Thus  the  question  of  a  strict  or  a  liberal  ^ 
construction  of  the  Constitution  arose.  Jefferson  and  Randolph 
of  Virginia,  the  Attorney-General,  took  one  side,  Hamilton 
and  Knox,  Secretary  of  War,  the  other.  Washington,  after 
some  hesitation,  signed  the  bill,  and  some  twenty-five  years 
C.  A.  lO 


146 


The  New  Nation. 


[Chap. 


later  James  Madison  approved  a  similar  bill  incorporating 
the  second  United  States  Bank.  Two  parties,  however,  had 
been  formed  in  the  cabinet.  From  that  time  on,  Jefferson  and 
Hamilton,  to  use  the  former's  words,  were  ^'pitted  against  each 
other  every  day  in  the  cabinet,  like  two  fighting  cocks."  How 
far  this  lack  of  harmony  in  the  cabinet  was  known  to  the  people 
at  the  moment  cannot  be  ascertained.  It  soon  became  evident 
enough  that  Jefferson  was  out  of  his  place  in  a  cabinet  of  which 
Hamilton  was  the  most  trusted  member. 

Alarmed  and  disgusted  at  the  manner  in  which  the  Federal- 
ists were  setting  at  naught  what  he  regarded  as 
a  party^^eader.  cxpresscd  will  of  the  people,  Jcfferson  began 

to  organize  the  various  sections  of  the  opposi- 
tion into  a  party.  His  career  shows  him  to  have  possessed  many 
diverse  qualities.  He  was  a  philosopher,  and  sometimes  a 
visionary.  He  was  also  a  politician  and  a  political  inventor  of 
the  most  practical  kind.  Working  in  the  dark,  his  hand  was  felt 
rather  than  seen.  His  lieutenants  and  agents  bore  the  brunt 
of  the  contest,  the  chief,  like  a  great  commander,  remaining  in 
the  rear  —  though  not  always  out  of  the  reach  of  a  chance  shot. 
He  believed,  or,  at  all  events,  he  convinced  others,  that  Hamil- 
ton and  the  Federalists  were  aiming  at  the  establishment  of  a 
monarchy.  He  thought  that  Hamilton  possessed  at  his  beck 
and  call  "  a  corrupt  squadron  "  in  Congress,  and  that  corruption 
had  been  used  in  many  ways  to  secure  the  ends  of  the  "  mon- 
archists." It  happened,  however,  that  Jefferson's  first  blow  fell 
not  on  Hamilton,  whom  he  feared  and  disliked,  but  on  John 
Adams,  whom  he  liked  and  did  not  fear,  regarding  him,  on  the 
contrary,  as  one  of  the  most  honest  and  disinterested  men 
alive..  The  Vice-President  had  lately  published  a  book  entitled 
Discourses  on  Davila  —  "a  dull  heavy  work"  as  he  himself 
afterwards  called  it.  Jefferson,  in  forwarding  to  a  printer 
for  re-publication  a  copy  of  Paine 's  Rights  of  Man^  stated, 
byway  of  saying  something  pleasant,  that  he  was  glad  to  find  that 


Foreign  Relations^  1793-94. 


147 


something  would  be  printed  against  the  political  heresies 
which  have  recently  sprung  up  among  us."  This  letter  was 
printed  by  the  publisher  apparently  without  Jefferson's  consent. 
The  phrase  "political  heresies  "  did  much  to  destroy  Adams's 
popularity,  but  after  a  short  time  the  matter  was  settled  as 
between  Adams  and  Jefferson.  The  dissension  in  the  cabinet 
now  became  very  bitter,  but  Hamilton  and  Jefferson  were  not 
yet  prepared  for  a  trial  of  strength  before  the  people.  They 
implored  Washington  to  be  a  candidate  for  re-election  and  he 
was  unanimously  chosen  President  for  the  second  time,  and 
John  Adams  was  again  elected  Vice-President. 

On  February  ist,  1793,  the  French  Republic  declared  war 
against  Great  Britain,  and  began  a  conflict  which  Neutral 
produced  momentous  consequences  to  the  United  ity  Prociama- 
States  as  well  as  to  the  nations  of  Europe.  In 
America  the  tendencies  of  the  time  were  distinctly  in  the  direc- 
tion of  democracy.  The  success  of  the  new  government  seemed 
to  justify  those  who  had  upheld  extreme  democratic  doctrines. 
A  large  portion  of  the  American  people,  knowing  scarcely  any- 
thing of  the  circumstances  of  the  French  Revolution,  saw  only 
a  people  striving  to  escape  from  the  monarchical  yoke  as  they 
themselves  had  done  in  the  recent  war,  and  they  desired  to  give 
what  aid  they  safely  could  to  further  this  good  work.  Jefferson, 
the  Secretary  of  State,  was  an  ardent  admirer  of  the  French 
nation.  He  had  left  Paris  in  the  early  days  of  the  Revolution. 
Overlooking  or  not  comprehending  the  faults  of  the  French,  he 
remembered  only  their  virtues,  and  sympathized  with  them. 
With  Hamilton  the  case  was  entirely  different.  He  had  no 
sympathy  at  all  for  France,  and  he  disliked  democracy.  The 
United  States  government  was  in  a  very  difficult  position.  The 
Treaty  of  Alliance  of  1778  might  under  some  circumstances 
have  given  rise  to  much  embarrassment.  As  it  was,  however, 
the  indiscretions  of  Citizen  Genet,  the  new  Minister  of  the 
French  Republic  to  the  United  States,  strengthened  fhe  nands 

10 — 2 


148 


The  New  Nation, 


[Chap. 


of  those  who  advocated  a  policy  of  strict  neutrality.  Landing 
at  Charleston,  Genet  at  once  began  the  fitting  out  of  privateers, 
and  seemed  disposed  to  use  the  soil  of  the  United  States  as  if 
it  were  French  territory.  Jefferson  advised  him  to  be  moderate 
in  his  actions;  but  Genet  not  only  broke  promises  which  he 
had  made  tc  the  Secretary  of  State,  but  he  defied  the  govern- 
ment. Washington,  after  mature  deliberation,  decided  to  regard 
the  treaty  of  1778  as  not  binding  in  this  case.  He,  therefore, 
issued  (1794)  a  proclamation  enjoining  the  strictest  neutrality 
as  between  the  belligerents.  This  proclamation  is  also  note- 
worthy as  containing  the  first  enunciation  of  what  was  afterwards 
known  as  the  "Monroe  doctrine,"  separating  the  affairs  of  the 
New  World  from  those  of  Europe.  Genet  then  appealed  to  the 
people  against  Washington.  To  such  an  issue  there  could  be 
only  one  answer,  and,  at  the  request  of  the  government,  Genet 
was  recalled.  The  passions  aroused  by  this  affair  had  scarcely 
begun  to  subside  when  they  were  excited  again  by  the  question 
of  the  ratification  of  a  treaty  with  Great  Britain  which  had  been 
negotiated  by  Chief  Justice  John  Jay. 

The  Treaty  of  1783  had  been  faithfully  observed  neither  by 

Great  Britain  nor  by  the  United  States.  There 
1794^*^  seems  to  be  little  use  at  the  present  time  in  trying 

to  apportion  the  blame.  The  matter  had  reached 
in  1793  the  dangerous  fu  qiwqu  stage  in  which  it  seemed  as  if 
war  could  not  be  long  postponed.  The  federal  government 
was  now  able  to  compel  obedience  to  its  treaty  obligations 
through  the  federal  courts;  and  this  being  the  case,  \V^ashing= 
ton  sought  to  avoid  war  by  sending  John  Jay  to  England.  Jay 
negotiated  a  treaty  whose  sole  claim  to  recognition  is  the  fact 
that  it  deferred  war  between  the  two  countries  for  nearly  two 
decades.  The  treaty  was  regarded  by  a  very  large  portion  of 
the  American  people  as  most  objectionable ;  and  it  was  thought 
by  many  that  Jay  had  acted  in  the  interest  of  a  party  devoted 
to  England.    There  may  have  been  a  slight  basis  for  this 


v.] 


Jay's  Treaty,  1794. 


149 


opinion.  Undoubtedly  the  mercantile  classes  in  the  North  and 
East  were  much  more  friendly  to  England  than  were  the  people 
of  the  South.  The  Federalist  party  was  controlled  by  the 
Northern  mercantile  class.  In  that  sense,  therefore,  it  was  a 
British  party.  Of  Jay's  personal  honesty  there  cannot  be  an 
atom  of  doubt.  His  refusal  to  lend  himself  to  one  of  Hamil- 
ton's disreputable  schemes  at  a  later  day  shows  him  to  have 
been  thoroughly  conscientious  and  incorruptible.  Washington , 
in  conformity  with  the  advice  of  two-thirds  of  the  Senate,  ratified 
the  treaty,  with  the  exception  of  the  most  offensive  clause. 
But  the  matter  did  not  end  there.  An  appropriation  of  money 
was  required  to  carry  the  treaty  into  effect,  and  the  opposition, 
or  Republican  party,  as  Jefferson  called  it,  was  in  control  in  the 
House  of  Representatives.  The  constitutional  position  of  the 
Lower  House,  which  alone  can  originate  money  bills,  compli- 
cated the  main  issue.  After  a  brilliant  debate,  the  House  yielded 
to  the  outside  clamour  in  the  commercial  centres  of  the  North, 
and  voted  the  appropriation  by  the  small  majority  of  forty-eight 
to  forty-one.  Jay's  treaty,  besides  postponing  the  second  war 
with  Great  Britain  for  many  years,  also  did  much  to  bring 
about  the  downfall  of  the  Federalists.  The  immediate  result 
was  a  very  great  diminution  in  Washington's  popularity  es- 
pecially in  his  own  State,  Virginia. 

It  was  at  this  time  (1794-96)  that  Washington  was  re- 
proached in  language  which  scarcely  ever  has     ^^^^  Adams 
been  exceeded.    As  he  himself  said,  he  was    elected  Presi- 
spoken  of  "  in  such  exaggerated  and  indecent 
terms  as  could  scarcely  be  applied  to  a  Nero,  to  a  notorious 
defaulter,  or  even  a  common  pickpocket."    He  was  now 
very  sensitive  to  praise  or  to  blame,  and  perhaps  this  storm  of 
opprobrium  may  have  had  something  to  do  with  his  determina- 
tion to  retire.    Jefferson  ultimately  seems  to  have  used  his 
influence  to  stop  the  torrent  of  abuse,  which  he  easily  accom- 
plished as  he  controlled  the  Republican  press;  and  the  re- 


The  New  Nation. 


[Chap. 


mainder  of  Washington's  term  of  office  was  passed  without  a 
contest  of  any  kind.  The  choice  of  a  new  candidate  for  the 
Federalists  seemed  to  be  a  difficult  matter.  Hamilton  was 
the  real  leader  of  the  party.  But  he  was  unpopular  and  was 
suffering  from  a  confession  of  immoral  conduct  which  had 
been  forced  from  him  to  clear  himself  from  a  charge  of  official 
corruption.  Jay  would  have  been  Hamilton's  choice,  but  the 
great  unpopularity  which  had  gathered  round  Jay's  treaty  made 
his  candidature  impossible.  Under  these  circumstances,  John 
Adams  was  almost  the  only  possible  Federalist  candidate  for 
the  Presidency.  Instead  of  accepting  him  in  good  faith, 
Hamilton  tried  to  contrive  some  scheme  by  which  Pinckney, 
the  Federalist  candidate  for  second  place,  might  be  brought 
in  first.  Adams  was  popular  with  the  rank  and  file  of 
the  Federalist  party,  and  some  of  the  Federalist  electors, 
therefore,  threw  away  their  second  votes,  thereby  ensuring 
the  defeat  of  Pinckney.  The  Republicans  showed  a  most 
unexpected  strength.  Adams  was  elected  President  by  only 
three  electoral  votes  over  Jefferson  who  thus  became  Vice- 
President. 

In  announcing  his  determination  not  to  be  again  a  candi- 
Washing        ^^^^        officc,  Washington  issued  a  Farewell 
ton's  Farewell     Addrcss  which  had  been  long  in  preparation. 
Address.  Madison  had  had  a  share  in  it  at  the  beginning, 

but  more  recently  Hamilton  had  been  Washington's  principal 
adviser.  The  document  was  in  every  respect  a  masterly  pro- 
duction, and  formed  a  fitting  close  to  Washington's  official 
career.  He  advised  his  countrymen  to  foster  the  government 
recently  established,  and  to  preserve  the  public  credit.  With 
regard  to  the  outside  world,  he  wished  his  fellow-citizens  first  of 
all  to  be  Americans,  and  to  act  with  honesty  toward  all  foreign 
countries,  forming  no  alliances  and  keeping  aloof  from  all  dis- 
putes in  which  European  countries,  by  their  situation,  were 
necessarily  involved. 


v.]  Relations  with  France,  1794-99.  151 


John  Adams  began  his  presidential  career  ( 1 797-1801)  by  re- 
taining in  office  his  predecessor's  chief  advisers.  ^^^^ 
Jefferson  and  Hamilton  had  long  since  resigned,    Adams's  Ad- 
and  the  heads  of  departments  were  men  of  fair  "^^^^stration. 
abilities  only,  who  might  easily  have  been  replaced.  This 
was  a  grave  error  as  they  looked  to  Hamilton  and  not  to 
Adams  as  the  leader  of  the  Federalist  party.    Adams  was 
thus  compelled  in  1798  to  take  most  important  action  without 
consulting  his  official  advisers.    This  he  had  a  perfect  right 
to  do,  as  the  Constitution  makes  the  President  personally 
responsible  for  his  acts;  but  it  precipitated  a  crisis  fatal  to 
his  party. 

The  main  interest  of  Adams's  administration  turns  on  the 
relations  with  France,  which  was  now  under  the      ^  , 

'  Relations 

domination  of  the  Directory.  At  the  moment  of  with  France, 
Adams's  accession,  there  was  a  complete  cessa-  ^^^^"^^^ 
tion  of  diplomatic  relations  between  the  two  countries.  This 
was  due  to  the  shock  which  the  negotiation  of  Jay's  treaty  had 
given  to  French  susceptibilities.  Monroe  of  Virginia,  a  man  of 
the  Jeffersonian  school,  was  then  American  Minister  at  Paris. 
Instead  of  trying  to  reconcile  the  French  government  to  Jay's 
treaty,  he  increased  the  irritation  which  was  felt  in  France  by 
his  petulant  and  undignified  conduct,  and  returned  to  the 
United  States  in  disgrace.  Another  American  envoy  had  been 
sent  away  from  Paris  and  the  French  Minister  in  the  United 
States  had  been  recalled.  Adams  determined  to  renew  friendly 
relations  with  a  power  whose  armies,  led  by  Napoleon,  were  at 
the  moment  in  the  midst  of  a  most  brilliant  campaign  in  Italy. 
To  produce  a  great  effect  he  appointed  three  commissioners, 
Pinckney,  John  Marshall,  and  Elbridge  Gerry  —  the  last  a 
Massachusetts  Republican.  On  their  arrival  at  Paris,  a  most 
extraordinary  endeavour  to  extort  money  from  them  was  made. 
Talleyrand  seems  to  have  been  at  the  bottom  of  this  discredit- 
able business,  but  in  the  published  despatches  the  letters  X,  Y, 


152 


The  New  Nation, 


[Chap. 


and  Z  were  used  to  denote  the  instruments  of  the  intrigue  and 
it  is  hence  known  as  the  "XYZ  Affair."  The  American 
Commissioners  resisted  in  a  most  dignified  way,  and  the 
outspoken  reply  of  Pinckney  to  one  of  the  French  agents: 
"Millions  for  defence;  not  one  cent  for  tribute"  became 
a  rallying  cry  for  the  FederalistsX  The  Republicans  saw 
with  dismay  the  ground  cut  from  beneath  their  feet  by  the 
action  of  their  French  friends.  Had  the  Federalists  been 
united  and  well  led,  they  might  have  grasped  the  great  oppor- 
tunity presented  by  this  crisis  to  win  the  goodwill  and  support 
of  their  countrymen.  As  it  was,  Washington  used  his  influence 
to  place  Hamilton  in  a  position  of  practical  superiority  in 
military  matters  as  regarded  Adams.  Such  a  position  was 
untenable,  as  the  President  under  the  Constitution  was  the 
head  of  the  army.  To  free  himself  from  this  thraldom  Adams 
seized  the  first  opportunity  to  make  peace  with  France  and  to 
rid  himself  of  Hamilton  and  Hamilton's  creatures. 

The  measures  adopted  by  Congress,  practically  at  the  dicta- 
tion of  the  Federalists,  were  admirable  so  far  as 
fofwar.^^^^^"^  defence  of  the  country  was  concerned.  A  new 
army  organization  was  set  on  foot  with  Washing- 
ton in  nominal  command,  but  with  Hamilton  the  real  com- 
mander, at  least  until  the  campaign  should  actually  begin.  The 
navy,  which  already  had  been  begun  during  some  recent  dis- 
putes with  Algiers,  was  now  organized,  and  rendered  good  ser- 
vice —  one  of  the  frigates,  the  Constellation,  capturing  the 
French  frigate  rinsui-gente. 

The  Federalists  committed  a  fatal  blunder,  however,  in  the 
The  Alien  passage  of  the  Alien  and  Sedition  Acts.  These 
and  Sedition  laws  sccm  to  have  been  modelled  on  similar  laws 
enacted  by  the  British  Parliament  at  about  the 
same  time.  The  Alien  Acts  authorized  the  President,  at  his 
discretion,  to  cause  aliens  to  be  removed  from  the  country;  or 
to  permit  them  to  reside  at  certain  places  specified  by  him. 


v.]        The  Virginia  and  Kentucky  Resolutions,  153 

on  their  giving  bonds  for  good  behaviour.    The  Sedition 
Act  provided  severe  penalties  for  those  who  should  resist  the 
lawful  acts  of  the  federal  officials,  and  for  all  who  might  be 
concerned  in  any  publication  bringing  or  tending  to  bring  the 
United  States  government  or  any  of  its  officers  into  disrepute. 
At  nearly  the  same  time,  the  period  of  residence  required 
for  naturalization  was  lengthened  from  five  to  fourteen  years. 
Led  by  Albert  Gallatin,  a  recent  immigrant  from  Switzerland, 
the  Republicans  in  Congress  strenuously  opposed  these  acts. 
But  they  were  overborne,  and  the  laws  were  passed.  Defeated 
in  Congress,  the  Republicans  then  had  recourse  to  expedients 
familiar  enough  in  pre-revolutionary  days.    The  legislatures 
of  Kentucky  and  Virginia  passed  Resolutions  (1798-99)  which 
were  transmitted  to  the  legislatures  of  the  other  States  for  their 
action  thereon.    The  Kentucky  Resolutions  were  introduced 
into  the  legislature  of  that  State  by  Mr  Breckenridge.    The  real 
author,  however,  was  Jefferson,  and  it  is  he  who  must  be  held 
responsible  for  the  constitutional  theories  propounded  in  these 
resolutions.    These  theories  were  briefly  (i)  that  the  Consti- 
tution was  a  compact  between  the  States;  (2)  that  the  co-States 
were  the  judges  of  the  validity  of  federal  laws;  and  (3)  not  the 
federal  government  which  was  their  agent.    In  the  original  draft, 
as  written  by  Jefferson,  the  reasoning  was  carried  to  its  logical 
conclusion,  namely,  that  the  States  might    nullify  "  those  acts 
of  the  Federal  Congress  which  were  outside  the  strict  limits  of 
the  powers  delegated  to  that  body.    This  dogma  of  nullification 
was  too  bold  for  the  Kentucky  legislators  in  1798;  but  in  the 
resolutions  passed  the  next  year  it  was  set  forth  at  length.  The 
Virginia  Resolutions  were  drafted  by  Madison,  who  was  now 
firmly  attached  to  the  Republican  party.    They  were  much 
milder  in  tone,  as  befitted  the  work  of  the  more  cautious 
Madison.    Nothing  came  of  either  of  these  attempts  to  secure 
concerted  action  on  the  part  of  the  States  against  the  federal 
government. 


The  New  Nation, 


[Chap. 


A  letter  which  Hamilton  wrote  to  Mr  Dayton,  Speaker  of 
the  House  of  Representatives,  contains  the  ex- 
Adtice^^*°"'^  treme  Federalist  view,  and  may  be  regarded  in 
some  measure  as  an  answer  to  the  Kentucky  and 
Virginia  Resolutions.  In  this  letter,  Hamilton  advocated  the 
cutting  up  of  the  States  into  small  divisions  for  the  purposes 
of  increasing  the  number  and  power  of  the  federal  courts. 
He  also  thought  that  an  amendment  to  the  Constitution  was 
desirable,  authorizing  Congress  at  its  discretion  to  divide  the 
larger  States  into  two  or  more  States.  He  advised  the  retention 
of  the  army  on  its  present  war  footing,  even  if  peace  should  be 
made  with  France.  At  this  moment  Adams,  without  any  con- 
sultation with  the  members  of  his  cabinet  or  with  the  party 
leaders,  reopened  negotiations  with  France,  and  thus  put  an 
abrupt  ending  to  the  dreams  of  Hamilton  and  his  friends. 

It  appears  that  the  publication  of  the  X  Y  Z  correspondence 
Negotiation  caused  great  excitement  among  the  governing 
with  France  circles  in  France.  Talleyrand  saw  that  he  had 
renewed.  gone  too  far  and  tried  to  draw  back.    An  intima- 

tion was  conveyed  to  Vans  Murray,  the  American  Minister  at 
the  Hague,  that  if  the  United  States  would  send  an  envoy 
to  Paris,  he  would  be  well  received.  Adams  grasped  at  the 
chance  offered  him  to  bring  peace  to  his  country.  He  nomi- 
nated Vans  Murray  as  Minister  to  France.  But  the  party 
leaders  in  the  Senate,  amazed  and  furious  at  this  sudden 
change  of  front,  seemed  determined  to  reject  the  nomination. 
The  President  then  substituted  a  commission,  consisting  of 
Ellsworth,  Jay's  successor  as  Chief  Justice,  Patrick  Henry,  and 
Vans  Murray,  and  these  nominations  were  confirmed.  Patrick 
Henry,  now  old  and  infirm,  declined  to  go,  and  Davie,  of 
North  Carolina,  another  Southern  Federalist,  was  appointed  in 
his  stead.  Adams  also  seized  the  first  opportunity  to  remove 
his  most  treacherous  advisers,  substituting  John  Marshall,  of 
Virginia,  for  Timothy  Pickering  as  Secretary  of  State. 


The  Election  of  1800. 


155 


The  Commissioners  were  well  treated  in  France.  Napoleon 
was  now  First  Consul.  He  appointed  a  com- 
mission, presided  over  by  Joseph  Bonaparte,  to  France  ^1800. 
negotiate  with  them,  but  he  refused  to  pay  for 
American  property  seized  by  the  French  government  or  by  its 
agents  during  the  recent  troubles  or  to  consent  to  the  formal 
abandonment  of  the  Treaty  of  Alliance  of  1778.  These 
subjects  were  to  be  reserved  for  future  negotiations.  The 
United  States  Senate  refused  to  ratify  the  clause  embodying 
this  arrangement.  In  other  respects  the  treaty  was  satisfactory 
to  both  parties,  and  it  was  ultimately  agreed  that  the  United 
States  should  give  up  its  contention  as  to  the  payment  of  claims, 
and  the  French  government  consented  to  regard  the  Treaty  of 
1778  as  no  longer  binding.  Thus  by  the  act  of  the  Federalist 
Senate,  the  United  States  became  liable  to  its  own  citizens  for 
French  spoliations  committed  before  1800.  It  is  only  within 
the  last  few  years,  when  legal  proof  has  become  almost  impos- 
sible, that  the  American  government  has  consented  to  pay 
these  "French  spoliation  claims." 

In  1800,  for  the  first  time,  a  presidential  election  was  con- 
tested with  great  vigour  and  acrimony.  The 
Federalist  party  laboured  under  many  serious  of'^i8oo^^^^^*°" 
disadvantages.     Adams's  administration  had 
been  most  fortunate  for  the  country,  and  time  has  vindicated  the 
purity  of  his  motives  and  the  wisdom  of  his  actions.    He  was 
still  popular  with  the  mass  of  the  party  and  he  became  the 
Federalist  candidate.    There  was  no  one  else  to  be  nominated 
with  any  prospect  of  success.    Hamilton  would  have  been  an 
impossible  candidate;  Jay  refused  to  enter  national  politics 
again ;  and  Washington  and  Henry  were  both  dead.  Accepting 
Adams  as  the  inevitable  leader,  Hamilton  embarked  on  a  course 
of  petty  intrigue  similar  to  those  intrigues  of  1788  and  1796 
already  described.     The  candidate  for  Vice-President  was 
Charles  C.  Pinckney  of  South  Carolina.    It  was  now  proposed 


156 


The  New  Nation, 


[Chap. 


that  the  South  Carolina  electors  should  vote  for  Jefferson  and 
Pinckney,  in  the  expectation  that  the  additional  votes  thus 
given  to  Pinckney  would  elect  him  President,  and  return 
Adams  to  the  Vice-Presidency.  Pinckney  honourably  declined 
to  be  a  party  to  the  transaction.  To  discredit  Adams  with 
his  own  party,  Hamilton  wrote  a  long  dissertation  to  prove 
Adams's  unfitness  for  the  highest  office.  It  was  intended 
that  this  document  should  be  passed  from  hand  to  hand  among 
the  leaders  of  the  party.  But  the  Republicans  secured  a 
copy  and  published  it  far  and  wide.  The  Federalists  would 
probably  have  been  defeated  in  any  event,  as  the  Alien  and 
Sedition  Laws  had  aroused  so  much  opposition  that  they 
dreaded  to  have  their  own  instrument  put  into  force.  Every 
prosecution  under  these  laws  converted  thousands  of  voters 
to  the  Republican  party.  Jefferson  had  now  perfected  the 
organization  of  that  party,  and  while  the  Federalists  were 
quarrelling  among  themselves,  the  Republicans  were  united 
and  able  to  take  advantage  of  every  opportunity  that  presented 
itself.  The  Republican  candidate  for  Vice-Presidentwas  Aaron 
Burr,  a  disreputable  New  York  politician  —  one  of  the  first  and 
ablest  of  his  kind.  He  had  formed  the  New  York  Republicans 
into  a  compact  well-drilled  political  organization,  and  had  thus 
won  his  nomination.  When  the  electoral  votes  were  counted 
it  was  found  that  Jefferson  and  Burr  had  each  received  seventy- 
three  votes,  while  Adams  had  sixty-five  and  Pinckney  sixty-four 
votes.  It  was  clear  that  Adams  and  Pinckney  were  defeated. 
But  who  was  chosen  President,  Jefferson  or  Burr? 

The  Constitution  provided  that  in  case  of  a  tie  of  this 
The  Twelfth     description  the  House  of  Representatives,  voting 
Amendment,       by  States,  should  elect  as  President  one  of  the 
two  having  the  highest  number.  The  Federalists 
#  were  in  a  majority  in  the  House  both  as  ordinarily  constituted 
and  also  when  organized  on  the  basis  of  each  State  having  one 
vote.    There  was  not  the  slightest  doubt  in  anyone's  mind  as 


The  Jtidiciary  Act,  1801. 


157 


to  which  candidate  the  people  had  intended  to  elect  President. 
Jefferson  was  the  foremost  man  in  the  country,  the  creator  of 
the  Republican  party,  and  loved  and  respected  by  nine-tenths 
of  the  voters  of  that  party.  Burr,  on  the  other  hand,  was  a 
mere  politician  who  had  been  placed  on  the  ticket  to  secure 
the  vote  of  New  York.  The  Federalists,  blinded  by  their 
hatred  of  Jefferson,  determined  to  elect  Burr  President.  This 
was  against  Hamilton's  wish,  who  disliked  Burr  on  his  own 
account.  Thirty-five  ballots  were  cast  before  the  Federalists 
could  bring  themselves  to  carry  out  the  clearly-expressed  will  of 
the  people.  Ultimately  Jefferson  was  declared  elected  President 
and  Burr  Vice-President.  To  avoid  the  many  inconveniences 
which  were  inseparable  from  the  existing  mode  of  electing 
President  and  Vice-President,  an  amendment  to  the  Constitu- 
tion (the  Twelfth  Amendment)  was  adopted  in  1804.  The  old 
machinery  of  electors  was  preserved,  but  each  elector  in  the 
future  was  to  vote  for  President  and  for  Vice-President  on 
separate  and  distinct  ballots.  In  case  no  candidate  for  Presi- 
dent should  receive  a  majority  of  all  the  votes  cast,  it  was 
provided  that  the  House  of  Representatives,  voting  by  States, 
should  elect  one  of  the  three  having  the  highest  number  of 
votes  President.  In  a  similar  case  as  to  the  Vice-President  the 
Senate  should  elect  one  of  the  two  having  the  highest  number 
Vice-President.  The  only  valuable  feature  of  the  old  system 
was  that  able  men  were  nominated  for  both  offices,  as  it  was 
very  uncertain  how  any  election  would  turn  out.  Since  1804, 
however,  second-rate  and  even  third-rate  men  have  been  chosen 
to  the  second  place. 

Defeated  at  the  polls,  the  Federalists  retreated    into  the 
Judiciary  as  a  stronghold."    After  the  results  of 
the  elections  were  known  they  passed  a  law  a^^'iSo"^^"^^^ 
largely  increasing  the  national  judicial  estab- 
lishment, although  the  existing  organization  was  more  thari 
sufficient  to  transact  all  the  judicial  business  of  the  country. 


IS8 


The  New  Nation. 


[Chap. 


In  this  way  many  new  offices  were  created  and  more  than 
twenty-three  new  appointments — presumably  for  life  —  placed 
in  Adams's  hands.  He  promoted  many  of  the  district  judges 
to  these  new  places,  and  was  thereby  enabled  to  appoint  to  the 
old  places  thus  vacated  many  Federalist  members  of  Congress 
who  were  constitutionally  ineligible  to  the  new  offices  —  as  a 
member  of  Congress  cannot  be  appointed  to  any  office  created 
by  an  Act  passed  while  he  is  in  Congress.  One  of  the  last 
appointments  of  Adams  deserves  to  be  noted.  Ellsworth 
resigned  the  Chief  Justiceship  on  account  of  his  advanced  age; 
and  Adams  nominated  to  the  vacant  post  John  Marshall  of. 
Virginia,  at  the  moment  acting  as  Secretary  of  State.  For 
thirty-five  years  he  remained  at  the  head  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  imposing  his  ideas  on  the  new  Associate  Justices,  as 
one  after  another  they  appeared.  During  these  years  John 
Marshall  laid  down  the  broad  construction  theory  of  the  Con- 
stitution first  propounded  by  Hamilton.  In  truth,  however, 
Jefferson  once  in  power  forgot  many  of  his  former  theories,  and 
exercised  whatever  authority  he  wished,  with  slight  regard  to 
the  Constitution,  as  for  instance  in  the  case  of  the  Louisiana 
Purchase. 

Adams's  departure  from  political  life  was  a  most  unfitting 
The  "  Mid  closc  to  a  great  career.  According  to  a  tradi- 
night  appoint-  tion,  preserved  in  Jefferson's  family,  at  midnight 
on  March  3rd,  1801,  Levi  Lincoln,  of  Massa- 
chusetts, Jefferson's  proposed  Attorney-General,  with  the  new 
President's  watch  in  his  hand,  entered  the  office  of  the  Secretary 
of  State  and  ordered  Marshall  to  stop  countersigning  commis- 
sions. At  daybreak  the  next  morning,  Adams  began  his  last 
journey  from  the  seat  of  government  to  his  home  at  Quincy, 
Massachusetts,  without  waiting  to  see  his  successful  rival  in- 
augurated into  office.  Looking  backward,  it  seems  clear  that 
Adams's  failure  in  his  party  was  due  to  the  fact  that  he  was  in 
the  wrong  party.    He  seems  to  have  become  conscious  of  this 


v.]  The  End  of  Adams  s  Career,  159 

later  on.  During  their  last  years  Adams  and  Jefferson  became 
friends  once  more.  On  July  4th,  1826,  on  the  fiftieth  anni- 
versary of  the  adoption  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
these  two  men,  the  one  the  author,  the  other  the  defender 
of  that  great  declaration,  died.  The  last  words  that  fell  from 
Adams's  lips  were  "Thomas  Jefferson  still  lives." 


CHAPTER  VI. 


SUPREMACY  OF  THE  JEFFERSONIAN  REPUBLICANS. 
180I-1809. 

The  first  administration  of  Thomas  Jefferson  (i 801-1805) 
marked  the  close  of  a  revolution  as  important 
idfaTs*"8oo.  far-reaching  in  its  consequences  to  the 

American  people  as  the  movement  of  1776-83, 
which  one  ordinarily  associates  with  the  phrase  "  the  American 
Revolution."  A  better  usage  would  include  both  movements 
in  this  term.  In  1776,  the  colonists  freed  themselves  from  the 
bonds  which  had  hitherto  bound  together  the  several  groups 
that  used  the  English  tongue.  In  1800,  the  American  people 
broke  away  from  its  own  past  and  entered  upon  the  work  of 
the  Nineteenth  Century  with  that  spirit  of  modern  liberalism 
which  one  might  well  call  the  Nineteenth  Century  spirit.  In 
this,  they  stood  almost  alone.  Nowhere  else  were  the  ideas 
which  have  made  this  century  memorable  in  the  history  of 
the  human  race  so  well  developed  and  so  openly  recognized. 
It  is  true  that  the  French  at  one  time  had  seemed  about  to 
take  the  lead  in  the  march  of  progress.  But  France  was  now 
under  the  rule  of  a  military  despot.  In  America,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  ardour  of  the  earlier  revolution,  chastened  and 
confined  within  more  reasonable  limits,  again  asserted  itself. 
The  Federalist  party  was  conservative  —  ultra-conservative.  It 
clung  hopelessly  and  despondently  to  the  eighteenth  century 

160 


Chap,  vl]      The  American  People  in  1800. 


161 


ideas  of  law  and  order  in  society  and  government.  It  was 
defeated  in  1800,  not  because  it  was  Federalist,  but  because  it 
held  to  the  ideals  of  a  bygone  age.  The  American  voters, 
strong  in  their  faith  in  humanity  and  in  human  progress, 
would  no  longer  consent  to  place  the  government  of  a  free 
people  in  the  hands  of  those  who  believed  in  government  by  a 
minority.  It  will  be  well  to  stop  a  moment  and  observe  the  con- 
dition of  the  American  people  at  the  beginning  of  the  century. 

The  area  of  the  United  States  was  then  about  849,145 
square  miles,  the  same  as  in  1783.    The  total     statistics  of 
population  was  given  in  the  census  of  1800  Population, 
at  five  million  three  hundred  thousand.  This 
may  be  compared  with  four  millions  in  1790  and  one  million 
six  hundred  thousand  in  1760.    The  American  people  was  still 
mainly  engaged  in  agriculture.    This  can  be  easily  understood 
from  a  slight  analysis  of  the  population.    If  we  take  the  line  of 
five  thousand  as  determining  whether  the  inhabitants  of  a  town 
should  be  classed  as  a  rural  or  urban  population,  we  find  that 
in  1800  there  were  only  eleven  towns  containing  five  thousand 
inhabitants  or  over.^    Five  of  these  towns,  Philadelphia,  New 
York,  Baltimore,  Boston,  and  Charleston,  each  contained  over 
twenty  thousand  inhabitants.    The  total  urban  population  was 

1  The  population  of  these  eleven  towns  is  thus  recorded  in  the  Second 


Census : 

Philadelphia,  Pa   70,287 

New  York,  N.Y   60,489 

Baltimore,  Md   26,614 

Boston,  Mass   24,027 

Charleston,  S.C   20,473 

Providence,  R.I   7,614 

Savannah,  Ga   7,523 

Norfolk,  Va   6,926 

Richmond,  Va   5,537 

Albany,  N.Y   5,349 

Portsmouth,  N.H   5.339 

C.A.  II 


The  yeffersonian  Republicans,  [Chap. 


two  hundred  and  forty  thousand  or  about  five  per  cent,  of  the 
whole. 

The  population  of  the  United  States  was  distributed  by 
sections  somewhat  as  follows:  New  England 
thtpop'uiadon.  Contained,  in  round  numbers,  one  million  two 
hundred  thousand,  the  Middle  States  one  million 
four  hundred  thousand,  and  the  Southern  States  two  million 
two  hundred  thousand.  The  population  of  the  States  north 
of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line  was  nearly  two  million  seven 
hundred  thousand,  or,  excluding  slaves,  one  hundred  thousand 
less.  Subtracting  the  slave  population  from  the  total  popula- 
tion of  the  Southern  States,  we  find  that  the  white  population  of 
that  section  was  one  million  three  hundred  thousand,  or  only 
just  half  that  of  the  North.  A  study  of  these  figures  in  detail 
will  show  more  clearly  the  great  differences  already  existing 
between  the  two  sections.  The  South,  with  a  total  popula- 
tion of  over  two  millions,  contained  only  two  large  towns, 
Baltimore  and  Charleston,  and  a  total  urban  population  of 
sixty-seven  thousand.  The  North,  with  a  total  population  of 
over  two  millions  and  a  half,  contained  two  cities  of  over  sixty 
thousand  inhabitants  each,  and  a  total  urban  population  of  over 
one  hundred  and  seventy  thousand.  One  or  two  comparisons 
will  be  of  interest  as  showing  the  extent  to  which  slavery  was 
even  then  exercising  its  influence.  Taking  Pennsylvania  and 
Virginia,  we  find  that  Pennsylvania  with  a  population  of  about 
six  hundred  thousand  possessed  a  city  of  seventy  thousand 
inhabitants.  On  the  other  hand,  Virginia,  whose  boundaries 
for  a  long  distance  marched  with  those  of  Pennsylvania,  con- 
tained no  town  of  over  seven  thousand,  and  had  an  urban 
population  of  only  twelve  thousand  four  hundred  and  three 
in  a  total  population  of  nearly  nine  hundred  thousand.  In 
Pennsylvania  there  were  no  slaves,  in  Virginia  there  were  three 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  slaves.  This  contrast  between  two 
States  lying  almost  side  by  side  is  most  interesting  and  forms 


VI.] 


l^he  American  People  in  1800. 


one  of  the  best  examples  of  the  play  of  State  lines,  as  well  as  of 
the  results  which  slavery  had  already  produced  in  the  social 
development  of  the  South.  Slavery  was  practically  extinct  in 
the  North,  every  State,  except  New  Jersey,  having  since  1780 
abolished  slavery  or  set  on  foot  some  scheme  for  gradual 
emancipation  which,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  ended  in  abolition. 
In  the  South,  many  far-seeing  men,  like  Washington  and 
Jefferson,  were  anxious  to  have  the  slaves  in  that  quarter 
emancipated.  But  this  was  impossible,  as  the  slaves  formed 
such  a  large  portion  of  the  invested  capital  of  the  country.  It 
could  have  been  brought  about  only  through  purchase,  in 
one  form  or  another,  by  the  national  government.  The 
funds  for  this  purpose  must  have  been  largely,  if  not  entirely, 
drawn  from  the  North,  and  the  people  of  that  section  having 
freed  their  own  slaves  without  assistance  would  probably  have 
been  very  unwilling  to  contribute  to  the  aid  of  the  South. 
This  seems  to  have  been  the  only  moment  when  the  slave- 
owners might  have  been  bought  out  on  reasonable  terms  and 
without  bloodshed,  and  no  such  plan  was  even  mentioned. 
The  recent  invention  of  the  cotton  gin  combined  with  important 
inventions  in  the  machinery  for  cotton  spinning  and  w^eaving 
gave  a  tremendous  stimulus  to  the  production  of  cotton.  After 
the  cultivation  of  that  staple  on  a  large  scale  had  become 
common  in  the  South,  slavery  could  be  abolished  only  by  war. 

The  American  people  still  clung  to  the  Atlantic  seaboard, 
with  the  exception  of  two  or  three  communities 
which  had  sprung  up  west  of  the  mountains.  tion°with^the^" 
The  conditions  of   transportation  had  made  Mississippi 

valley. 

scarcely  any  progress  Since  1760.  Four  roads 
or  paths  led  from  the  seaboard  over  the  mountains  —  two  of 
them  leading  to  the  northern  portion  and  two  to  the  southern 
portion  of  the  Ohio  valley.  About  four  hundred  thousand 
settlers — ;  including  slaves  —  inhabited  these  vast  solitudes  be- 
tween the  mountains  and  the  Mississippi.    Separated  by  a 


164 


The  yeffersonian  Republicans. 


[Chap. 


wilderness  from  the  older  States,  the  new  settlements  were 
a  constant  menace  to  the  Union.  The  isolation  of  these 
western  hamlets  is  comparable  only  to  that  of  the  inhabitants 
of  some  of  the  remote  river  valleys  of  Europe  in  the  mediaeval 
time.  Jefferson  regarded  the  rapid  colonization  of  the  western 
lands  with  alarm.  No  one  could  have  foreseen  at  that  time 
(1800)  the  changes  which  the  introduction  of  the  steam  loco- 
motive and  the  steamboat  would  make  in  the  political  aspects 
of  the  new  world.  It  is  almost  safe  to  say  that  the  political 
results  which  have  flowed  from  the  introduction  of  steam  have 
equalled  in  importance  for  America  the  economic  results. 
Without  easy  communication  of  some  kind  in  the  years  1800- 
1860  the  area  now  occupied  by  the  United  States,  if  settled 
at  all,  must  have  been  possessed  by  several  different  political 
organizations  having  varied  and  divergent  interests. 

In  the  art  of  living,  the  people  in  1800  were  where  their 

fathers  had  been  forty  years  before.  In  letters 
tion"i8oo°"*^^'  learning  there  had  been  a  slight  advance, 

and  the  beginnings  of  a  new  era  might  even  then 
be  discerned.  The  religious  oligarchy  still  maintained  its  hold 
on  the  New  England  intellect,  but  its  days  were  numbered. 
The  colleges  seemed  to  be  at  a  standstill  —  there  were  fewer 
students  at  Harvard  in  1800  than  in  1700.  Philadelphia  was 
still  the  literary  and  intellectual  centre  of  the  country,  but  even 
there  during  these  years  there  seems  to  have  been  retro- 
gression rather  than  advance.  The  American  people  was  ab- 
sorbed in  repairing  the  havoc  and  waste  of  years  of  war  and 
anarchy.  This  attempt  had  been  successful,  as  an  examination 
of  the  census  returns  will  show. 

The  year  1792  is  the  first  year  for  which  we  have  trustworthy 
Material         retums.    Let  us  compare  a  few  of  the  statistics 
growth,  1792-      for  that  year  with  those  of  1800.    The  total  ex- 

ports  were  valued  in  1792  at  twenty  millions  of 
dollars,  in  1800  at  seventy  millions.  In  1792  the  imports  were 
valuedatthirty-onemillionsagainstninety-one  millions  in  1800. 


VI.]       Jejferson  s  First  Inauguration^  1801. 


The  income  of  the  government  had  risen  in  this  time  from  three 
million  six  hundred  thousand  dollars  to  ten  million  six  hundred 
thousand.  The  federal  expenditure,  exclusive  of  interest  on 
the  national  debt,  had  increased  from  one  million  eight  hundred 
thousand  to  over  seven  millions.  These  figures  show  at  once 
the  increase  in  prosperity  which  followed  the  adoption  of  the 
Constitution,  and  also  the  success  which  had  attended  Hamil- 
ton's efforts  to  build  up  a  large  governmental  establishment  and 
to  draw  to  it  the  revenues  of  the  country.  The  very  magnitude 
of  the  federal  receipts  and  payments  alarmed  Jefferson. 

The  country  did  not  have  long  to  wait  before  it  became 
conscious  that  with  Jefferson  a  new  order  was  to  , 

Jefferson's 

be  introduced  into  the  government.  Instead  of  inaugural  Ad- 
proceeding  in  coach  and  four  to  the  inaugura- 
tion  ceremonies,  as  had  been  customary,  Jefferson  walked 
to  the  capitol,  read  his  inaugural  address  and  took  the  oath 
of  office.  A  few  sentences  from  this  address  will  serve  to 
show  that  Jefferson,  in  becoming  President,  did  not  intend 
to  abandon  the  theories  of  a  lifetime.  **The  sum  of  good 
government,"  to  his  mind,  was  **a  wise  and  frugal  government, 
which  shall  restrain  men  from  injuring  one  another,  which 
shall  leave  them  otherwise  free  to  regulate  their  own  pursuits  of 
industry  and  improvement,  and  shall  not  take  from  the  mouth 
of  labour  the  bread  it  has  earned."  As  to  his  late  opponents, 
he  desired  conciliation,  saying,  "  We  are  all  Republicans,  we  are 
all  Federalists."  By  this  he  meant,  no  doubt,  that  the  mass  of 
the  Federalist  party  was  composed  of  honest  men  who  would 
be  Republicans  if  they  were  well  informed.  He  then  laid  down 
the  broad  lines  of  his  policy,  as  follows:  "Equal  and  exact 
justice  to  all  men,  of  whatever  state  or  persuasion,  religious 
or  political ;  peace,  commerce,  and  honest  friendship  with  all 
nations,  entangling  alliances  with  none;  .  .  .  economy  in 
the  public  expenditure,  that  labour  may  be  lightly  burdened; 
the  honest  payment  of  our  debts,  and  sacred  preservation 


i66 


The  yejfersonian  Republicans.  [Chap. 


of  the  public  faith;  encouragement  of  agriculture,  and  of 
commerce  as  its  handmaid;  the  diffusion  of  information,  and 
arraignment  of  all  abuses  at  the  bar  of  public  reason;  free- 
dom of  religion,  freedom  of  the  press,  and  freedom  of  the 
person.  .  .  .  Should  we  wander  from  them  [the  above 
principles]  in  moments  of  error  or  alarm,  let  us  hasten  to 
retrace  our  steps  and  regain  the  road  which  alone  leads  to 
peace,  liberty,  and  safety."  Anticipating  our  narrative,  for  a 
moment,  it  may  be  said  that  Jefferson  so  managed  matters  that 
in  four  years'  time  the  Federalist  electoral  vote  fell  from  sixty- 
five  to  fourteen. 

The  new  President  was  very  fortunate  in  the  selection  of 
his  leading  advisers.    He  placed  Madison  at  the 

Changes  in  °  ^ 

the  Civil  Ser-  head  of  the  State  department  and  Gallatin  at  the 
head  of  the  Treasury.  Two  Massachusetts  men. 
Dearborn  and  Lincoln,  were  Secretary  of  War  and  Attorney- 
General,  respectively.  The  first  three  of  these  four  men  re- 
mained Jefferson's  chief  advisers  during  the  eight  years  of  his  ad- 
ministration. The  Republican  President  found  the  government 
offices  occupied  by  Federalists.  Among  these  office-holders 
were  some  of  the  most  bitter  opponents  of  the  administration. 
One  of  these  was  Goodrich,  formerly  a  Representative  from 
Connecticut,  who  had  resigned  his  seat  to  accept  from  President 
Adams  the  Collectorship  of  Revenue  at  New  Haven.  Nowhere 
was  Federalism  more  rampant  than  in  Connecticut.  President 
Dwight  of  Yale  College,  situated  at  New  Haven,  probably  ex- 
pressed the  opinions  of  many  leading  Federalists  in  the  follow- 
ing remarkable  sentences  written  soon  after  the  inaugura- 
tion :  "  We  have  now  reached  the  consummation  of  democratic 
blessedness.  We  have  a  country  governed  by  blockheads  and 
knaves;  the  ties  of  marriage  with  all  its  felicities  are  severed 
and  destroyed.  .  .  .  Can  the  imagination  paint  anything 
more  dreadful  on  this  side  hell  ?  "  It  chanced  that  a  young  man 
named  Bishop,  at  about  this  time,  delivered  an  address  defending 


VI.] 


The  Civil  Service. 


Republicanism  before  the  literary  societies  of  the  college  over 
which  Mr.  Dwight  presided.  Jefferson  removed  Goodrich  from 
the  collectorship  and  appointed  the  father  of  this  young  orator  to 
the  place.  The  matter  attracted  attention  out  of  all  comparison 
with  its  importance.  It  must  be  conceded  that  Jefferson  believed 
that  a  party  containing  more  than  one-half  of  the  voters  of  the 
country  was  entitled  to  a  participation  in  the  offices  maintained 
by  the  nation.  But  in  the  first  fourteen  months  of  his  administra- 
tion, he  removed  only  sixteen  office-holders  without  assigning 
adequate  reasons.  To  one  office-seeker,  who  asserted  that  the 
Republicans  were  entitled  to  the  offices  as  saviours  of  the  coun- 
try, he  is  said  to  have  answered  that  "  Rome  was  once  saved  by 
geese;  but  I  have  never  heard  these  geese  were  made  revenue 
officers."  So  far  from  using  the  government  offices  to  reward 
his  followers,  Jefferson  cut  down  the  civil  service,  and  thus  to  a 
considerable  extent  deprived  himself  of  the  means  of  so  doing. 
As  to  Adams's  "midnight  appointments"  he  felt  free  to  com- 
plete them  or  not  as  he  chose,  and  he  even  refused  to  deliver 
commissions  which  Adams  and  Marshall  had  left  properly 
signed  at  the  moment  of  their  hasty  exit  from  office.  The  new 
federal  courts  were  abolished  by  Act  of  Congress,  and  no  one 
seriously  questioned  the  constitutionality  of  the  act.  The 
judges  of  the  Supreme  and  District  courts  of  the  United  States 
held  their  offices  for  life.  They  were  all  Federalists,  and  so, 
too,  were  the  minor  officials  of  these  courts.  Jefferson  felt  that 
it  was  unwise  to  leave  a  great  and  important  department  wholly 
in  the  control  of  a  party  which  the  people  had  repudiated.  He 
removed  as  many  of  the  inferior  officials  as  possible,  substi- 
tuting Republicans  in  their  places.  An  attempt  was  also  made 
to  secure  a  place  on  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court  through 
the  impeachment  of  Samuel  Chase,  one  of  the  Associate  Jus- 
tices; but  it  failed  owing,  in  some  measure,  to  the  mis- 
management of  the  impeachers.  The  cautious  temperaments 
of  Jefferson  and  Marshall  prevented  any  further  conflicts,  and 


1 68  The  yejfersonian  Republicans.  [Chap. 

the  Supreme  Court  remained  in  the  control  of  the  Federalists 
for  many  years.  The  necessity  for  the  removals,  above  noted, 
is  to  be  deplored,  as  they  furnished  a  precedent  for  the  whole- 
sale removals  of  Jackson's  time.  But,  as  some  writers  have 
pointed  out,  Jefferson's  action  was  made  necessary  by  the  earlier 
proscription  of  the  Republicans  by  the  Federalists. 

The  National  Debt  had  increased  in  nine  years  (i  792-1801) 
Gallatin's        from  sevcuty-seven  to  eighty-two  million  dollars, 
financial  although  this  increase  was  not  "  realized  by  the 

people,  owing  to  the  operation  of  a  sinking  fund. 
Of  the  income  of  the  government,  some  ten  millions  in  all,  only 
about  one  and  one-half  million  was  derived  from  the  internal 
taxes,  which  were  collected  at  great  disproportionate  expense, 
and  were  very  irritating  to  large  sections  of  the  population.  The 
total  expenditure  of  the  government  was  nearly  seven  and  one- 
half  millions.  Of  this  sum  almost  three  and  one-half  millions 
were  devoted  to  the  navy.  Jefferson  and  Gallatin  were  anxious 
to  reduce  these  charges  and  taxes  in  the  interests  of  economy, 
and  also  to  undo  as  much  as  possible  of  the  centralization  of  the 
Federalist  government.  It  was  plain  that  the  great  increase  of  ex- 
penditure had  been  on  the  navy.  Jefferson  disliked  a  naval  estab- 
lishment in  itself.  He  believed  that  wars  and  disputes  were  often 
occasioned  by  the  action  of  naval  ofificers,  or  perhaps  grew  out 
of  the  presence  of  naval  vessels  in  foreign  ports.  He  also  thought 
that  the  possession  of  naval  renown  made  for  war.  If  Jefferson 
had  had  his  way  he  would  have  tied  the  war-ships  to  the  most 
convenient  wharves,  employing  a  few  watchmen  to  guard  them. 
This  would  have  freed  at  least  three  millions  each  year  for  the 
reduction  of  the  debt,  and  the  loss  of  the  internal  revenue 
taxes  was  to  be  made  good  by  reduction  in  the  diplomatic 
service  and  in  the  judiciary.  It  proved  to  be  impossible  to 
carry  out  this  scheme  in  its  entirety.  The  internal  taxes  were 
abolished  and  with  them  a  large  number  of  offices.  But 
although  the  national  debt  was  in  part  extinguished,  the 


VI.]      yeffersons  First  Administration^  1801-5.  169 


creation  of  a  new  debt  to  pay  for  the  purchase  of  land  in  1803 
and  for  the  War  of  181 2  postponed  the  extinction  of  the  debt 
for  many  years,  although  Gallatin  reduced  it  from  eighty-two 
million  to  about  forty  million  dollars.  As  to  the  navy,  its  first 
renown  was  gained  during  Jefferson's  administration. 

The  Barbary  Corsairs  seem  to  have  had  little  faith  in  theories 
as  to  the  possibilities  or  virtues  of  a  general  peace. 
They  had  demanded  and  received  money  from  tan  wlr^^^^^" 
the  United  States,  and  at  last  in  1800,  as  a  means 
of  extracting  a  larger  tribute,  the  Pacha  of  Tripoli  declared 
war  against  the  United  States.  Jefferson,  instead  of  tying  the 
vessels  to  a  wharf,  was  obliged  to  send  them  to  the  Mediter- 
ranean. One  expedition  necessitated  another,  and  in  1803 
the  Republican  Administration  began  the  construction  of 
several  sloops-of-war  especially  designed  for  service  on  the 
coasts  of  Northern  Africa.  In  1804,  the  matter  was  concluded 
to  the  satisfaction  of  the  United  States.  It  was  during  this 
war  that  the  American  naval  officers  gained  the  skill  which 
stood  them  in  good  stead  in  the  later  contest  with  Great 
Britain.  The  people  listened  with  avidity  to  the  recitals  of 
the  deeds  of  daring  associated  with  the  names  of  Decatur, 
Preble,  Bainbridge,  and  Barron,  and  acquired  a  taste  for  naval 
adventure,  quite  foreign  to  the  desires  of  the  President. 

The  most  important  act  of  this  administration  was  the 
purchase  of  that  territory  lying  between  the     France  re 
Mississippi,  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  the  Rio  gains  Louisi- 
Grande,  which  then  was  known  under  the  general 
name  of  Louisiana.    The  colony  included  under  this  designa- 
tion had  been  settled  originally  by  the  French  at  the  end  of 
the  seventeenth  and  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
It  had  led  a  struggling  and  feeble  existence,  and  in  1763  it 
was  ceded  to  Spain  to  recompense  her  for  Florida,  which  that 
power  had  been  obliged  to  give  to  Great  Britain  in  exchange 
for  Havanna  —  captured  by  the  British  in  1 7 6 1 .  It  is  important 


I/O 


The  yeffersonian  Republicans, 


[Chap. 


to  observe  at  the  outset  that  this  vast  region  had  been  valued 
in  1763  as  the  equivalent  of  the  Spanish  colony  of  Florida. 
The  French  King,  at  the  time  that  he  ceded  Louisiana  to 
Spain,  had  ceded  his  other  territories  on  the  continent  of 
North  America  to  Great  Britain.  In  1797,  France  had  once 
more  become  the  most  powerful  military  state  in  Europe. 
Talleyrand,  at  that  time  foreign  minister,  conceived  the  scheme 
of  rebuilding  her  former  colonial  empire,  in  the  hope,  per- 
haps, of  forcing  her  people  upon  the  sea,  and  in  this  way  re- 
establishing her  marine.  He  designed,  as  the  first  part  of  this 
plan,  to  regain  Louisiana  from  Spain.  Napoleon,  when  he 
became  the  first  power  in  France,  entered  heartily  into  Talley- 
rand's plans,  and  forced  Spain  (1800)  to  retrocede  Louisiana 
to  France.  The  price  paid  for  this  cession  was  the  dangerous 
goodwill  of  Napoleon  and  an  elusive  Italian  throne  for  the 
Spanish  king's  son-in-law. 

The  announcement  of  this  change  of  ownership  aroused  a 

The  Ad-  storm  of  indignation  in  the  United  States.  The 

ministration  pacific  Jeff  erson,  forgetting  the  interests  of  peace, 
aroused.  wrote  a  letter,  the  gist  of  which  was  to  be  com- 

municated to  the  French  government.  A  few  sentences  from 
this  letter  will  serve  to  show  how  serious  the  matter  seemed  to 
the  President.  Among  other  things,  he  said :  "  The  day  that 
France  takes  possession  of  New  Orleans  fixes  the  sentence 
which  is  to  restrain  her  for  ever  within  her  low-water  mark. 
It  seals  the  union  of  two  nations,  who,  in  conjunction,  can 
maintain  exclusive  possession  of  the  ocean.  From  that  moment 
we  must  marry  the  British  fleet  and  nation." 

The  matter  was  further  complicated  by  the  action  of  the 

The  Louisi  Spanish  authorities  at  New  Orleans.  The  Mis- 
ana  Purchase,  sissippi  formed  the  principal  outlet  for  the  people 
^^°^*  of  the  western  portions  of  the  United  States.  The 

lumber,  grain,  and  other  produce  of  the  Ohio  basin  was  carried  on 
flatboats  or  rafts  to  New  Orleans  and  there  placed  on  sea-going 


VI.]  The  Louisiana  Purchase^  1803.  171 


vessels.  The  United  States  had  secured  from  Spain  the  right 
for  her  citizens  to  store  their  goods  at  New  Orleans  pending 
trans-shipment.  There  was  no  topic  about  which  the  people 
of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  were  so  sensitive  as  the  navigation 
of  the  Mississippi.  Suddenly,  the  Spanish  Intendant  at  New 
Orleans  withdrew  '4he  right  of  deposit"  from  the  Americans. 
The  indignation  of  the  westerners  blazed  out  in  fury.  Jefferson 
was  forced  to  do  something  besides  write  letters.  Orders  were 
at  once  sent  to  Livingston,  the  American  Minister  at  Paris,  to 
buy  the  strip  of  coast  extending  eastward  from  the  Mississippi 
and  including  New  Orleans,  and  Congress  voted  money  to  pay 
for  it.  For  a  time  Livingston  pressed  the  matter  upon  the  at- 
tention of  the  French  government  with  great  pertinacity  but 
without  success.  But  on  April  nth,  1803,  Talleyrand  startled 
him  by  inquiring  "whether  the  United  States  wished  to  have 
the  whole  of  Louisiana?  "  Two  days  later  Monroe  of  Virginia, 
who  had  been  sent  abroad  with  a  species  of  roving  commission, 
reached  Paris;  but  the  actual  conduct  of  the  negotiation  re- 
mained in  Livingston's  hands.  Eventually  the  Americans,  ex- 
ceeding their  instructions,  bought  Louisiana  for  the  sum  of 
fifteen  million  dollars,  of  which  three  and  three-quarter  millions 
were  to  be  used  to  pay  claims  of  Americans  for  spoliations 
committed  by  France  since  1800.  The  precise  motive  which 
actuated  Napoleon  in  making  this  sale  seems  impossible  to 
discover.  The  reason  usually  assigned  by  writers  is  that 
foreseeing  war  with  England  he  could  not  hope  to  retain 
Louisiana  and  preferred  that  it  should  fall  to  the  United 
States  rather  than  to  England.  This  however  does  not 
seem  to  be  an  adequate  explanation,  as  the  fate  of  Louisiana 
at  the  close  of  a  war  would  depend  mainly  upon  Napoleon's 
success  or  failure  in  Europe.  It  would  be  interesting  to 
ascertain  Jefferson's  feelings  at  the  moment  the  report  of 
the  purchase  reached  him.  For  years  he  had  been  pro- 
claiming that  the  federal  government  possessed  such  powers 


1/2 


The  Jeffersonian  Republicans, 


[Chap. 


only  as  were  expressly  delegated  to  it  by  the  Constitution. 
But  there  was  nothing  in  the  Constitution  authorizing  the 
United  States  to  buy  land.  In^  the  first  moment  of  surprise, 
he  declared  that  an  amendment  to  the  Constitution  would  be 
necessary.  But  the  impolicy  of  thus  delaying  the  ratification 
of  the  treaty  was  evident.  He  laid  aside  his  scruples  for  the 
moment  and  nothing  was  ever  done  in  the  matter.  Yet  the 
purchase  of  Louisiana  with  all  its  possibilities  was  an  act  far 
exceeding  in  doubtfulness  anything  the  Federalists  had  ever 
done.  The  limits  of  the  new  acquisition  were  even  more 
dubious.  The  treaty  described  the  territory  ceded  as  ^Hhe 
colony  or  province  of  Louisiana,  with  the  same  extent  as  it 
now  has  in  the  hands  of  Spain,  and  that  it  had  when  France 
possessed  it,  and  such  as  it  should  be  after  the  treaties  subse- 
quently entered  into  between  Spain  and  other  powers."  The 
United  States  government  immediately  asserted  that  it  included 
West  Florida,  but  did  not  press  its  claim  to  Texas,  or  the  country 
between  the  settlements  in  the  Mississippi  basin  and  the  Rio 
Grande.  Mr  Henry  Adams  has  recently  discovered  the  orders 
issued  by  the  French  government,  when  it  expected  to  take 
possession  of  the  country  for  itself.  This  document  shows 
that  France  and  Spain  understood  the  cession  to  include 
Texas  and  to  exclude  any  part  of  West  Florida.  In  view  of 
these  facts,  it  is  difiicult  to  describe  the  boundaries  of  Louisiana 
or  to  state  its  area.  It  may  be  said,  however,  to  have  included 
the  whole  western  half  of  the  Mississippi  valley,  the  Island 
of  New  Orleans,  and  the  country  between  the  Mississippi  and 
the  Rio  Grande.  It  also  may  be  regarded  as  having  given  the 
people  of  the  United  States  the  opportunity  of  acquiring  Oregon 
by  rendering  the  colonization  of  that  region  more  easy. 

The  general  satisfaction  felt  by  the  people  at  the  peaceful 
acquisition  of  this  domain  and  the  settlement 

Jefferson  re-  ^ 

elected  Pres-  of  all  disputes  as  to  the  navigation  of  the  Missis- 
ident,  Z804.        sippi  increased  if  possible  Jefferson's  popularity. 


VI.]  yefferson's  Second  Term^  1805-9.  ^73 


He  was  re-elected  President  in  1804  by  one  hundred  and 
sixty-two  votes  against  fourteen  cast  for  Pinckney,  the 
Federalist  candidate.  Even  New  Hampshire  and  Massa- 
chusetts gave  their  votes  to  Jefferson.  Connecticut  and 
Delaware  were  the  only  States  whose  entire  vote  was  given 
to  the  Federalists. 

Two  things  attract  the  student's  attention  during  Jefferson's 
second  administration:  Burr's  conspiracy,  and  Burr's  con- 
the  complicated  relations  with  Great  Britain  and  spiracy  and 
France.  Aaron  Burr,  the  late  Vice-President, 
was  now  thoroughly  discredited  politically  by  his  double- 
dealing  with  both  parties.  Socially  he  was  an  outcast,  for  the 
killing  of  Hamilton  in  a  duel  had  aroused  the  moral  feelings  of 
the  people  in  the  North  and  may  be  said  to  have  put  an  end 
to  duelling  in  that  part  of  the  country.  He  was  in  debt  and 
without  any  means  of  support,  as  he  could  not  resume  his  law 
practice  in  New  York.  He  turned  his  uneasy  eyes  to  the 
South-west  and  there  saw  a  field  of  operations  commensurate 
with  his  desires  and  his  abilities.  What  Burr  really  had  in 
mind  has  never  been  ascertained.  At  times  he  spoke  of 
becoming  an  Emperor  with  descent  to  his  daughter  Theodosia. 
At  another  time,  the  scheme  seems  to  have  been  to  separate 
the  country  west  of  the  mountains  from  the  older  States  on  the 
Atlantic  seaboard,  and  to  found  a  new  republic  in  the  wilder- 
ness, with  Burr,  perhaps,  as  President.  It  is  not  unlikely  that 
the  real  design  of  the  plotters  was  never  disclosed.  At  all 
events,  the  conspiracy  ended  in  complete  failure.  Wilkinson, 
the  American  commander  in  Louisiana,  at  the  last  moment 
determined  to  be  true  to  his  country  and  false  to  his  friend. 
Burr,  finding  his  scheme  hopeless,  abandoned  his  comrades  and 
tried  to  reach  Florida  through  the  sparsely  settled  country 
between  the  Mississippi  and  the  peninsula  of  Florida.  He  was 
recognized  in  a  frontier  town  and  taken  to  Richmond  for  trial. 
The  end  was  as  ludicrous  as  any  part  of  the  scheme,  for  Chief 


The  yeffersonian  Republicans.  [Chap. 


Justice  John  Marshall,  who  presided  at  the  trial,  ruled  that  an 
overt  act  of  treason  within  the  meaning  of  the  Constitution 
must  be  first  proved  and  then  Burr  connected  with  it.  As  Burr 
had  never  been  able  to  levy  war  the  prosecution  for  treason 
stopped  at  that  point.  Other  prosecutions  for  misdemeanour 
shared  a  similar  fate,  and  many  years  later  Burr  died  quietly  in 
New  York  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty  years. 

The  renewal  of  the  European  contest  brought  in  its  train 
^         .  ,      new  vexations  and  hardships  to  the  United  States, 

Commercial  ^  ' 

relations,  1783-  and  the  War  of  1812  was  largely  the  result  of  the 
ill-feeling  thus  aroused.  It  will  be  well  to  go 
back  a  few  years  and  to  consider  as  one  subject  the  commercial 
relations  of  the  United  States  with  foreign  powers  before  181 2. 
The  Americans  seem  to  have  expected  to  enjoy  as  an  inde- 
pendent nation  the  same  rights  of  trade  which  they  had  enjoyed 
as  members  of  the  British  Empire.  In  this  they  were  dis- 
appointed. The  traffic  which  they  especially  desired  was  that 
with  the  English  West  India  Islands.  As  those  islands  did  not 
produce  sufficient  food  for  their  own  inhabitants  the  British 
government  permitted  a  few  commodities  to  be  imported  from 
the  United  States  in  British  bottoms,  provided  payment  were 
made  in  molasses  or  rum  —  payment  in  sugar  being  forbidden. 
The  Americans  moreover  carried  on  a  large  and  profitable 
trade  with  the  French  and  Spanish  West  Indies  —  whose  direct 
intercourse  with  the  mother  lands  was  now  difficult,  owing 
to  the  vigilance  of  the  British  cruisers.  Landing  these  French 
and  Spanish  colonial  goods  on  an  American  wharf  and 
paying  duty,  the  Americans  would  then  place  them  again 
on  shipboard  —  perhaps  on  the  same  vessel  from  which  they 
had  been  unloaded  —  receive  the  greater  part  of  the  duty 
back  in  the  shape  of  a  "drawback,"  and  sail  away  for  a 
French  or  Spanish  port.  One  of  these  vessels,  the  Polly, 
was  seized  and  carried  to  Great  Britain.  Sir  William  Scott, 
better  known  perhaps  by  his  later  title  of  Lord  Stowell,  decided 


VI.]  Commercial  Relations ^  1 783-1 804.  175 


as  Judge  in  the  British  Admiralty  Court  that  voyages  made 
under  the  above  circumstances  had  been  broken,  and  that  the 
Polly  and  her  cargo  must  be  regarded  as  American.  There 
was  also  in  existence  in  those  days  an  agreement  between 
certain  nations  of  Europe  known  as  **The  Rule  of  War  of 
1756."  This  was  to  the  effect  that  no  nation  could  enjoy  in 
time  of  war  a  trade  denied  to  it  in  time  of  peace.  Under  the 
operation  of  this  rule,  the  Americans  had  no  right  to  enter  or 
leave  French  or  Spanish  West  India  ports.  In  the  winter  of 
1793-94,  the  British  West  India  cruisers  seized  many  of  the 
American  vessels  in  the  West  Indies.  President  Washington 
protested,  and  by  Jay's  Treaty  this  matter  was  settled  practically 
in  favour  of  the  Americans,  though  direct  trade  between  the 
French  Islands  and  France  in  American  bottoms  was  prohibited. 
Under  these  favourable  circumstances,  American  commerce 
flourished  beyond  measure.  This  was  the  condition  of  affairs 
when  the  Peace  of  Amiens  (1802)  put  a  period  to  the  first  part  of 
the  great  war.  Great  Britain  entered  on  the  second  part  of  that 
struggle  in  a  stern  frame  of  mind.  There  was  especially  strong 
feeling  against  the  continuance  of  the  favours  shown  to  the 
Americans.  The  English  merchants  protested,  and  Sir  James 
Stephen,  one  of  the  ablest  men  in  England,  wrote  a  remark- 
able book,  entitled  War  in  Disguise^  or  the  Frauds  of  the 
Neutral  Flag,  Under  this  pressure  from  the  merchants,  and 
provided  with  such  a  good  statement  of  the  British  side  of  the 
case,  Mr  Pitt  decided  to  enforce  the  "Rule  of  War  of  1756." 
Sir  William  Scott  also  at  about  the  same  time  changed  hi:; 
mind,  and  in  the  case  of  the  Essex  decided  that  much  more 
was  required  to  break  a  voyage  than  he  had  thought  necessary 
at  the  time  of  the  decision  in  the  case  of  the  Polly,  Seizures 
were  now  made  right  and  left,  and  war  against  the  United  States 
existed  in  all  but  name  by  the  act  of  England.  The  reply  of 
the  United  States  was  a  Non-importation  Act,  to  take  effect 
after  nine  months  —  "a  dose  of  chicken-broth, "  as  one  member 


1/6 


The  yeffersonian  Republicans, 


[Chap. 


of  Congress  described  it,  ^*to  be  taken  nine  months  hence." 
Before  that  time  came,  the  matter  had  assumed  a  much  more 
serious  phase. 

On  October  21st,  1805,  the  English  won  the  memorable 
Great  Britain  victory  off  Cape  Trafalgar.  In  the  following 
and  Napoleon,  December,  Napoleon  defeated  England's  allies 
1804-1806.  ^j^^  great  battle  of  Austerlitz.    It  was  now 

evident  that  Napoleon  could  not  attack  Great  Britain  directly ; 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  neither  Great  Britain  nor  her  allies 
could  accomplish  much  against  Napoleon  on  land.  The  two 
combatants  thereupon  seemed  to  have  determined  to  starve  one 
another  into  submission.  In  the  carrying  out  of  this  policy, 
American  ship-owners  were  the  principal  sufferers.  The 
sympathies  of  the  modern  student  of  American  history  are 
somewhat  divided  as  between  the  two  belligerents.  On  the 
one  hand,  the  Napoleonic  earthquake  made  possible  social  and 
political  reforms  with  which  he  is  in  full  accord.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  heroic  resistance  of  the  British  people  saved  the 
New  World  as  well  as  the  Old  World  from  the  evils  of  a 
military  despotism. 

The  first  step  in  this  three-cornered  contest  —  for  the  United 
States  soon  became  an  active  participant,  was 
blockade^"  and  the  issuiug  an  Order  in  Council  (May  i6th, 
the  ^^^^^^  1806),  declaring  a  blockade  of  the  coast  of  the 

Continent  from  Brest  to  the  Elbe.  This  blockade 
was  enforced  only  between  the  Seine  and  Ostend,  and  was  re- 
pealed as  to  the  German  coasts  on  September  27th  of  the  same 
year.  It  is  sometimes  known  as  Fox's  blockade,  and  was  an 
effective  blockade  between  the  two  points  above  named.  Na- 
poleon began  his  part  of  the  campaign  of  starvation  by  the  Berlin 
Decree  (November  21st,  1806).  In  this  decree  the  British 
Islands  are  declared  to  be  *Mn  a  state  of  blockade,"  no  com- 
merce whatever  being  allowed  with  them.  Furthermore,  all 
trade  in  British  merchandise  was  forbidden.    On  the  first  day 


VI.] 


The  Belligerents  and  the  Neutrals, 


177 


of  the  next  month  (December,  1806)  a  treaty  was  signed  at 
London  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  which 
was  designed  to  take  the  place  of  Jay's  Treaty,  soon  to  expire 
by  limitation.  This  new  treaty  was  very  unfavourable  to  the 
United  States.  Among  other  things,  it  contained  a  provision 
that  the  "Rule  of  1756  "  would  not  be  regarded  as  in  force  in 
respect  to  goods  upon  which  a  two  per  cent,  ad  valorem  duty 
had  been  paid  in  the  United  States  —  provided  it  should  not  be 
returned  as  a  drawback.  There  was  no  mention  of  impress- 
ment in  the  treaty,  nor  was  indemnity  for  spoliations  committed 
by  the  British  provided  for.  It  is  difficult  to  see  what  reasons 
could  have  induced  Monroe  and  Pinckney,  the  American  ne- 
gotiators, to  sign  such  a  treaty.  It  is  even  more  difficult  to 
discover  why  they  should  have  consented  to  receive  a  supple- 
mentary note  to  the  effect  that  the  British  government  would 
not  carry  out  this  treaty  unless  America  should  resist  the  Berlin 
Decree.  Jefferson  consulted  with  a  few  Senators  and  sent  the 
treaty  back  to  England  without  submitting  it  to  the  Senate. 

On  January  7th,  1807,  Great  Britain's  answer  to  the  Berlin 
Decree  appeared  in  the  form  of  an  Order  in  The  British 
Council  closing  the  coasting  trade  of  the  Conti-  Orders  in 
nent  to  neutrals  —  so  far  as  ports  under  French 
control  were  concerned.  Late  in  the  same  year  (November  1 1  th, 
1807)  another  Order  in  Council  was  issued,  the  effect  of  which 
was  to  secure  the  condemnation  of  any  American  vessel  seized 
while  on  a  voyage  to  any  European  port  closed  to  British 
vessels,  unless  such  vessel  had  first  touched  at  a  British  port. 
Napoleon,  on  his  part,  in  the  Milan  Decree  (December  17th, 
1807)  declared  that  any  ship  which  had  obeyed  the  above  order 
was  good  prize  if  seized  in  any  port  under  his  control.  At  this 
time.  Napoleon  was  the  virtual  master  of  all  the  continental  ports 
except  those  of  Sweden,  Norway,  and  Turkey,  and  the  British 
were  supreme  on  the  ocean.  These  orders  and  decrees,  therefore, 
provided  for  the  speedy  annihilation  of  American  shipping  and 
C.A.  12 


178 


The  yeffersonian  Republicans. 


[Chap. 


this  seems  to  have  been  the  object  of  the  last  British  Order  in 
Council  if  one  may  judge  from  a  perusal  of  Mr  Percival's  cor- 
respondence on  the  subject.  The  official  reason  as  stated  was 
a  desire  to  compel  the  United  States  to  retaliate  upon  the 
French  government.  The  vessels  bearing  these  later  Orders 
and  Decrees  reached  the  United  States  at  about  the  same  time. 
Jefferson  had  always  maintained  that  nations  could  be  com- 
pelled by  appeals  to  their  interests  as  effectively,  and  much 
more  cheaply,  as  by  appeals  to  their  fears.  He  now  had  an 
opportunity  to  put  his  theories  into  practice.  Meantime,  how- 
ever, another  matter  had  excited  the  prejudices  of  the  Americans 
against  Great  Britain.  This  was  the  dispute  as  to  impressment. 
Ever  since  the  beginning  of  the  contest  between  France 
Theim  Great  Britain  in  1793,  British  sea  captains 

pressment  had  Stopped  American  vessels  and  taken  from 
Controversy.  ^j^^^^  service  in  the  British  navy  British  sub- 
jects found  on  board.  If  the  matter  had  stopped  there,  it 
would  have  been  bad  enough,  as  the  American  government  from 
the  beginning  denied  the  right  of  search.  But  the  matter  did 
not  stop  there.  In  the  first  place  it  was  difficult  to  distinguish 
between  an  American  and  an  Englishman.  Indeed,  the  fate 
of  many  American  seamen  was  a  hard  one  during  this  period  of 
strife.  The  English  naval  captain  impressed  him  because  he 
looked  like  an  Englishman  and  the  French  authorities  impris- 
oned him  for  the  same  reason.  Secondly,  the  English  govern- 
ment refused  to  recognize  naturalization  as  doing  away  with 
the  inalienable  allegiance  due  from  all  British  subjects.  The 
doctrine  of  inalienable  allegiance  was  then  the  recognized  doc- 
trine of  European  nations ;  but  it  seemed  a  little  strange  that 
the  British  government  should  have  held  so  strongly  to  it  in 
view  of  the  Acts  of  Parliament  passed  before  the  Revolution, 
naturalizing  foreigners  after  short  periods  of  residence  in  the 
colonies.  It  was,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  upon  these  Acts  of  Par- 
liament that  the  American  practice  of  naturalization  was  based. 


VI.]  The  Impressment  Controversy,  179 

There  were  abuses  in  the  system,  however,  which  no  doubt 
irritated  the  English  officers.  English  seamen  deserted  at  every 
American  port  and  were  encouraged  to  do  so  in  many  States. 
They  were  provided  with  State  naturalization  papers,  in  some 
places  as  a  matter  of  course.  The  whole  crew  of  one  British 
man-of-war  is  said  to  have  deserted,  and  in  a  single  port  there 
were  twelve  British  vessels  detained  at  one  time  by  reason  of 
wholesale  desertions.  As  the  contest  progressed,  the  larger 
American  ports  were  blockaded  by  the  British  cruisers,  which 
stopped  every  vessel  going  in  or  out  and  impressed  seamen 
almost  at  will.  There  were  at  times  several  thousand  native 
Americans  serving  on  British  war  vessels.  Finally  on  June  22, 
1807,  the  matter  was  brought  to  a  crisis  by  the  British  ship 
Leopard  firing  on  the  American  frigate  Chesapeake.  The 
Chesapeake  was  just  out  of  the  hands  of  the  dockyard  au- 
thorities, everything  was  in  confusion,  and  it  was  only  by 
means  of  a  coal  from  the  cook's  galley  that  one  gun  was 
fired  in  return  to  save  the  vessel's  honour  before  her  flag 
was  hauled  down.  The  Leopard^s  officers  took  from  her 
three  American  citizens  and  one  English  deserter,  and  the 
Chesapeake  then  made  the  best  of  her  way  back  to  Norfolk, 
almost  a  wreck.  A  thrill  of  indignation  swept  through  the 
United  States  only  equalled  by  the  indignation  which  had 
been  aroused  by  the  conflict  at  Lexington  in  1775.  The 
President  issued  a  Proclamation  ordering  all  British  war  vessels 
out  of  the  waters  of  the  United  States,  and  forbidding  any 
intercourse  with  them  or  the  furnishing  them  with  any  supplies. 
Redress  was  demanded,  and  an  attempt  was  made  to  couple 
with  the  Chesapeake  affair  the  whole  question  of  impress- 
ment. The  British  government  disavowed  the  action  of  the 
Admiral  by  whose  orders  the  outrage  had  been  committed, 
but  refused  to  give  up  impressment.  The  matter  there- 
fore was  left  to  embitter  the  already  critical  relations  of  the 
two  countries.     It  was  while  affairs  were  in  this  unsettled 

12 — 2 


i8o 


The  yeffersonia7i  Republicans.  [Chap. 


condition  that  the  Order  in  Council  of  November  nth,  1807, 
was  issued. 

Jefferson  recommended  an  embargo,  and  Congress,  without 
Jefferson's       debate  of  any  importance,  passed  an  Embargo 
Embargo  Act  (December  23,  1807)  forbidding  American 

Policy.  vessels  to  leave  the  United  States  for  foreign 

ports,  and  foreign  vessels  were  not  permitted  to  take  any  cargo 
except  what  was  actually  on  board.  The  original  act  was  amended 
from  time  to  time  in  the  direction  of  greater  stringency.  The  last 
attempt  to  enforce  it  was  by  the  passage  of  the  Enforcement  Act 
of  January,  1808.  The  provisions  of  this  act  will  serve  to  show 
the  great  difficulty  experienced  in  trying  to  carry  out  this  em- 
bargo policy.  The  Enforcement  Act  required,  for  example,  that 
the  owners  of  coasting  vessels,  before  the  cargo  was  placed  on 
board,  should  give  bonds  to  six  times  the  value  of  the  vessel  and 
proposed  cargo,  obliging  them  to  land  the  goods  in  the  United 
States.  The  collectors  of  customs  were  authorized  to  seize  goods 
"  in  any  manner  apparently  on  their  way  toward  the  territory  of  a 
foreign  nation  or  the  vicinity  thereof. "  Under  this  act,  as  some- 
one said,  the  collector  of  customs  at  St  Alban's,  Vermont,  was 
authorized  to  seize  a  Vermont  cow  walking  toward  the  vicinity 
of  Canada."  The  embargo  brought  about  the  temporary  ruin 
of  Jefferson's  popularity  and  the  revival  of  the  Federalist  party 
in  New  England.  It  also  gave  rise  to  a  secession  party  in  that 
section  which  played  directly  into  the  hands  of  England. 
Indeed  Lord  Castlereagh  considered  that  in  so  far  as  the 
embargo  injured  the  Republican  party  and  helped  the 
Federalists,  it  operated  directly  in  the  interests  of  Great 
Britain.  From  a  political  point  of  view,  therefore,  this  policy 
was  a  failure.  Furthermore,  it  compelled  the  Republicans  to 
abandon  the  ground  of  1798,  and  to  adopt  broad  construc- 
tion theories  in  the  interpretation  of  the  Constitution.  From 
a  national  stand-point  this  was  a  great  gain,  but  from  a  Jeffer- 
sonian  point  of  view  it  must  be  reckoned  among  the  failures. 


VI.]  Jefferson  s  Embargo  Policy.  i8i 

The  embargo  produced  no  effect  on  France  —  except  as  it 
served  Napoleon  for  a  useful  pretext  to  justify     Effect  of  the 
two  later  decrees.    The  earlier  of  these  was  T^V^T^'a 

r^ngland  and 

issued  at  Bayonne  (April  17, 1808),  and  directed  France, 
the  sequestration  of  all  vessels  flying  the  United  States  flag  on 
the  ground  that  no  American  vessels  could  honestly  navigate 
the  ocean  while  the  embargo  was  in  force.  The  other  decree, 
that  of  Rambouillet  (1810),  directed  the  confiscation  of  all 
vessels  then  in  French  hands.  As  to  Great  Britain,  however, 
the  case  was  different.  The  embargo  no  doubt  contributed  to 
bring  on  a  commercial  crisis  in  England.  Prices  of  Continental 
and  American  goods  rose  to  prohibitive  limits.  At  the  same 
time,  the  markets  of  the  world  being  largely  closed  to  her, 
prices  of  English  goods  declined.  The  Americans,  especially 
the  New  Englanders,  began  to  manufacture  for  themselves  and 
it  seemed  not  impossible  that  the  American  market  might  be 
permanently  lost.  Since  the  sufferers  among  the  manufactur- 
ing population  in  England  had  no  political  power,  it  may  be 
said  that  the  embargo  as  regards  Great  Britain  was  a  com- 
plete failure. 

The  sufferers  from  the  embargo  policy  in  America,  unlike 
their  fellow-sufferers  in  England,  possessed  direct  embargo 
politicalpower  and  before  long  exercised  it.  The  in  the  united 
embargo  bore  more  heavily  upon  Jefferson's  own 
political  friends  in  Virginia  than  upon  anyone  else.  Virginia's 
tobacco  crop  was  her  principal  source  of  wealth ;  and  for  several 
years  the  surplus  over  the  needs  of  the  American  market  was 
unsaleable.  Many  planters  were  ruined  outright  and  many 
more  were  seriously  crippled;  but  they  bore  their  injuries 
with  patience.  Not  so  the  New  Englanders.  The  shipowner 
saw  his  vessels  rotting  at  the  wharves  at  the  very  moment  when 
freights  were  at  the  highest.  It  was  of  no  use  to  tell  him  that 
the  government  was  protecting  him  from  loss  by  compelling  him 
to  keep  quiet.    He  was  quite  willing  to  take  the  risk  and  pocket 


The  yeffersonian  Republicans. 


[Chap. 


the  profits,  trusting  to  the  government  to  secure  indemnification 
in  case  his  ship  should  be  captured.  But  the  New  Englander 
was  not  the  man  to  stand  idly  by  and  complain.  At  first  he 
tried  to  evade  the  law.  When  the  Enforcement  Acts  at  last 
made  that  unprofitable,  he  turned  his  attention  to  manufacturing 
—  and  the  manufacturing  industries  of  New  England  date  back 
to  this  time.  During  this  period  he  omitted  no  opportunity  to 
complain  against  the  Jeffersonian  government.  The  fruits  of 
six  years  of  conciliation  were  lost  in  a  very  short  time.  Portions 
of  the  country,  indeed,  seemed  on  the  eve  of  rebellion,  and  it 
became  evident  to  Jefferson  by  January  1809  —  when  he  had 
but  three  months  more  to  serve  —  that  the  embargo,  whether  it 
were  a  success,  as  he  declared,  or  a  failure,  as  his  enemies 
asserted,  must  be  repealed  and  that  soon. 

Madison  had  meantime  been  elected  President,  and  to  him 

Repeal  of  Jefferson  left  the  practical  conduct  of  affairs 
the  embargo,      during  the  last  few  months  of  his  official  life. 

Madison  planned  to  have  the  embargo  removed 
in  June,  1809.  But  the  subject  of  repeal  was  no  sooner 
brought  up  in  Congress,  than  it  became  evident  that  a  majority 
was  in  favour  of  an  immediate  repeal,  and  the  embargo  was 
removed  on  March  4th,  1809,  the  day  of  Madison's  inaugu- 
ration. In  its  place  Congress  provided  for  non-intercourse 
with  France  and  Great  Britain  and  their  respective  adherents 
and  dependents. 

Historical  writers  have  been  accustomed  to  wax  merry  over 

Jefferson's  Jeffersou's  policy  of  substituting  commercial 

commercial  restrictions  for  war;  but  it  may  well  be  asked  if 
the  facts  of  the  world's  history  from  i8ot  to 
1809  justify  this  view.  The  nations  of  Europe  were  at  that 
time  war-mad.  Rules  of  conduct  which  had  obtained  for 
centuries  were  thrown  to  the  winds  by  the  master  despot. 
The  British  nation,  regarding  itself  as  the  saviour  of  the  world, 
was  disposed  to  treat  the  neutral  as  if  he  were  one  of  the  saved. 


VI.]  Jefferson  s  Embargo  Policy,  183 


It  would  seem  that  Jefferson  deserves  credit  for  keeping  his 
country  free  from  war  at  such  a  time.  Finally,  it  must  be  re- 
membered that  his  policy  was  not  the  only  policy  that  failed 
of  its  expected  results  in  that  time  of  delirium.  It  may  also  be 
pointed  out  that  the  Jeffersonian  system  of  commercial  warfare 
as  a  matter  of  fact  brought  about  the  repeal  of  the  Orders 
in  Council  on  June  17th,  181 2  —  one  day  before  war  was 
declared  against  Great  Britain  by  the  United  States.  Had  the 
submarine  cable  suddenly  come  into  being  at  that  time,  the 
War  of  181 2  probably  would  not  have  taken  place. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


THE  SECOND  WAR  OF  INDEPENDENCE  AND  THE  ERA  OF 
GOOD  FEELING. 

For  a  time  events  appeared  to  turn  in  Madison's  favour. 
The  begin-       The  New  Englanders  ceased  from  sedition  and 
son^s°Ad!^i1n-"     exerted  themselves  to  make  money  by  manu- 
istration.  facturing  —for  English  goods  were  still  excluded 

from  the  country;  and,  also,  from  a  most  profitable  commerce 
which  was  carried  on  with  the  few  European  countries  not  under 
the  control  of  either  France  or  Great  Britain.  It  even  seemed  for 
a  moment  as  if  England  would  enter  again  into  friendly  relations 
with  the  United  States.  A  treaty  was  negotiated  with  Mr  Erskine, 
the  British  Minister  at  Washington,  on  terms  satisfactory  to  the 
American  government.  But  Erskine  had  exceeded  his  power. 
The  British  government  refused  to  ratify  the  treaty,  and  recalled 
their  envoy;  and  Madison,  who  had  suspended  non-inter- 
course with  Great  Britain,  was  obliged  to  issue  a  Proclamation 
again  imposing  it.  Erskine 's  successor  was  a  Mr  Jackson,  who 
had  represented  Great  Britain  at  Copenhagen  at  the  time  of  the 
seizure  of  the  Danish  fleet.  He  had  then  used  language  to  the 
Prince  Royal  of  Denmark  for  which  King  George  III  is  said  to 
have  remarked  that  Jackson  should  have  been  kicked  down- 
stairs. He  now  accused  Madison  of  having  knowingly  deceived 
Erskine;  and,  repeating  the  assertion,  Madison  declined  to 
receive  any  more  communications  from  him.    He  returned 

184 


Chap.  VII.]     Madison  s  First  Term^  1809-13.  185 


home,  delaying  on  the  road  to  encourage  the  Federalists  of 
New  England  in  their  intrigues  against  their  government. 

Non-intercourse  did  not  seem  to  be  producing  any  marked 
effect  on  either  of  the  belligerents.    On  May  i  st,      ^         .  , 

'  v^ommercial 

18 10,  Congress  substituted  for  it  a  bill  known  in  policy  modi- 
American  political  language  as  Macon's  Bill, 
No.  2.  This  provided  that  non-intercourse  should  cease.  In 
case,  however,  one  belligerent  should  revoke  its  decrees  or 
orders  and  the  other  should  not  do  so,  it  was  provided  that  the 
President  should  reimpose  non-intercourse  against  the  of- 
fending nation.  Then  followed  a  most  distressing  diplomatic 
contest,  in  the  course  of  which  Madison  was  entirely  over- 
reached by  Napoleon.  That  master  of  duplicity  offered  to 
revoke  his  decrees  on  November  ist,  18 10,  so  far  as  American 
shipping  was  concerned,  provided  Great  Britain  should 
rescind  the  Orders  in  Council  before  that  day.  Lord  Welles- 
ley,  the  British  Foreign  Minister  at  the  time,  offered  to  re- 
scind the  orders  after  Napoleon  had  revoked  his  decrees. 
Madison,  however,  understanding  that  the  French  decrees 
really  were  withdrawn,  suspended  non-intercourse  with  both 
countries. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  American  government  had 
interpreted  the  provisions  of  the  Louisiana  Pur-      ^  . 

^  ^  Seizure  of 

chase  to  include  West  Florida.  But  against  this  west  Florida, 
the  Spanish  government  had  protested,  and  Tal- 
leyrand  had  stated  that  the  Spanish  interpretation  was  the  true 
one.  As  long  as  Spain  remained  an  independent  nation,  the 
Americans  were  not  disposed  to  push  their  claim.  Now  (1810) 
it  seemed  probable  that  Spain  would  become  a  dependence 
of  either  France  or  Great  Britain.  The  occupation  of  West 
Florida  by  either  of  those  powers  would  have  menaced  the 
control  of  the  Mississippi  by  the  United  States.  Madison 
decided  to  take  possession  of  West  Florida.  A  portion  was 
occupied  in  1810  and  the  remainder  in  181 2.    The  United 


1 86  The  Second  War  of  Independence  [Chap. 


States  had  not  the  shadow  of  a  claim  to  East  Florida,  or  that 
province  would  probably  have  been  seized  also. 

When  Madison  laid  down  the  office  of  Secretary  of  State  to 
become  President  he  wished  to  promote  Albert 
changes**  Gallatin  —  the  ablest  man  in  the  cabinet  —  from 

the  Treasury  to  the  State  Department.  He  was 
unable  to  do  this,  however,  owing  to  the  opposition  of  a  faction 
led  by  Senator  Smith  of  Maryland,  whose  brother  Robert  Smith 
was  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  Gallatin  had  earned  the  enmity  of 
this  clique  by  condemning  in  severe  terms  the  inefficient  and 
wasteful  management  of  the  Navy  Department  by  Robert  Smith. 
So  powerful  were  the  Smiths,  however,  that  the  President  was 
obliged,  not  only  to  put  aside  his  plan  as  to  Gallatin,  but  even 
to  appoint  Robert  Smith  Secretary  of  State,  The  latter  could 
not  write  a  proper  state  paper,  and  Madison  was  accustomed  to 
write  the  important  despatches  himself,  Robert  Smith  copying 
and  signing  them.  The  charter  of  the  United  States  Bank  was 
about  to  expire,  and  Gallatin  desired  to  recharter  it,  for,  as 
things  stood,  it  was  indispensable  to  the  efficient  management 
of  the  Treasury.  Robert  Smith  did  not  oppose  the  plan  in 
the  cabinet,  but  with  his  brother's  aid  secured  its  rejection 
by  Congress.  This  was  more  than  Gallatin  could  bear,  and  he 
forwarded  his  resignation  to  the  President.  Now,  at  last,  the 
patient  Madison  was  aroused.  He  asked  Gallatin  to  remain, 
removed  Smith,  and  requested  Monroe,  who  had  opposed  the 
g6vernment  since  the  rejection  of  his  treaty  with  England,  to 
take  the  vacant  post.  Monroe  accepted,  to  the  indignation  of 
many  of  his  friends,  and  again  entered  political  life. 

During  these  years  of  embargo  and  non-intercourse  the 
Republicans  had  suffered  many  defeats  in  New 
mande?^"^'       England.    They  now  had  control  in  Massachu- 
setts.   To  perpetuate  their  hold  on  the  upper 
house  of  the  legislature  of  that  State,  they  rearranged  the  sena- 
torial districts  to  secure  as  many  Republican  districts,  and  hence 


VII.]  Madison's  First  Term,  1809-13. 


187 


as  many  senators,  as  possible.  Some  of  the  new  districts  were 
of  a  most  extraordinary  shape,  resembling  in  outline  those 
quaint  monsters,  salamanders  and  the  like,  with  which  mediaeval 
map-makers  were  wont  to  dot  the  unknown  parts  of  the  sea. 
To  these  the  Federalists  gave  the  name  of  gerrymander,  as  a 
satire  on  the  Republican  governor,  Elbridge  Gerry,  who  signed 
the  bill.  In  this  connection  Gerry  is  still  remembered  among 
all  English-speaking  peoples. 

In  May,  181 1,  the  American  frigate  P^^esident  and  the 
British  sloop-of-war  Little  Belt,  owing  to  some  President 
misunderstanding  not  now  to  be  discovered,  fired  and  uttie  Beit, 
on  each  other  in  the  darkness  of  the  early  evening 
and  the  Little  Belt  was  badly  crippled.  This  affair  recon- 
ciled the  American  people  to  accept  reparation  for  the  Chesa- 
peake outrage,  and  accordingly  the  American  citizens  seized 
by  the  Leopard  in  1807  were  restored  to  their  country.  To 
Americans  of  the  present  day,  this  whole  matter  of  impress- 
ment seems  extraordinary.  The  press-gang  saved  the  British 
government  a  few  thousand  pounds  in  seamen's  wages,  at  the 
cost  of  great  hardship  to  Englishmen  and  oftentimes  to  their 
families  as  well.  It  did  more  than  anything  else  to  keep  alive 
the  spirit  of  resentment  on  the  part  of  Americans  towards  the 
British  nation,  which  was  one  of  the  principal  causes  of  the 
War  of  181 2.  Another  cause  of  that  war  was  the  conviction, 
which  obtained  especially  among  the  people  of  the  North-west, 
that  the  British  authorities  in  Canada  were  at  the  bottom  of  the 
Indian  troubles  of  the  period. 

Among  the  Indians  of  Indiana  Territory  were  two  brothers, 
named  Tecumthe  and  ^4he  Prophet."  Under  The  Battle 
their  lead  the  Indians  protested  against  the  of  Tippecanoe, 
United  States  securing  more  land  in  that  region 
from  individual  tribes.  They  maintained,  on  the  contrary,  that 
the  land  belonged  to  the  Indians  as  a  whole,  and  could 
only  be  acquired  by  general  consent.    Following  a  refusal 


1 88  The  Second  War  of  Independence,  [Chap. 


to  acknowledge  the  justness  of  this  argument,  murders  and 
thefts  became  common.  The  settlers  in  the  North-west  were 
alarmed.  William  Henry  Harrison  was  then  the  governor  of 
that  region.  Gathering  a  small  army  composed  of  regulars  and 
volunteers,  he  marched  to  Tecumthe's  town  of  Tippecanoe. 
While  encamped  near  that  place  he  was  attacked  at  night  by 
a  large  body  of  Indians,  who  were  beaten  off  with  great  loss. 
They  then  abandoned  their  village.  Tecumthe,  who  was  absent 
at  the  moment  of  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe  (1810),  joined 
the  British  in  Canada,  and  this  gave  colour  to  the  assertions 
of  the  Americans  that  he  was  a  British  emissary. 

A  few  days  before  this  conflict  the  Twelfth  Congress  met  at 

Washington.  The  House  of  Representatives  was 
ci^ed^  1812         '^^^  controlled  by  Henry  Clay,  John  C.  Calhoun, 

and  other  young  men,  to  whom  the  theories 
of  Jefferson  and  the  founders  of  the  Republican  party  were 
hardly  more  than  traditions.  They  had  had  little  or  no  part  in 
the  passing  of  the  embargo,  and  believed  that  war  with  Great 
Britain  was  the  only  way  out  of  the  difficulties  which  surrounded 
the  United  States.  They  won  the  President  to  their  side  —  he 
was  now  anxious  as  to  his  re-nomination  —  and  war  was  declared 
against  England  on  June  i8th,  181 2.  The  events  which  led  up 
to  the  war  have  been  narrated  in  the  previous  pages.  Perhaps 
war  was  necessary,  as  Clay  asserted.  It  is  not  probable  that  it 
would  have  taken  place,  however,  had  the  British  government 
and  people  treated  the  Americans  as  equals.  For  example, 
Mr  Canning,  in  conversation  and  in  his  official  correspondence 
with  the  American  ministers  at  London,  used  language  which 
made  forgiveness  without  humiliation  practically  impossible. 
The  following  extract  from  a  speech  made  in  the  House  of 
Commons  will  serve  to  show  the  tone  adopted  towards  the 
American  people  by  at  least  one  British  minister,  and  that 
a  conciliatory  man.  This  diplomatist  asserted  in  181 2  that 
"generally  speaking,  they  [the  Americans]  were  not  a  people 


VII.] 


Causes  of  the  War. 


we  should  be  proud  to  acknowledge  as  our  relations."  Later, 
in  1813,  Lord  Liverpool,  the  Prime  Minister,  declared  that 
America  "  ought  to  have  looked  to  this  country  as  the  guardian 
power  to  which  she  was  indebted  not  only  for  her  comforts,  not 
only  for  her  rank  in  the  scale  of  civilization,  but  for  her  very 
existence."  Bearing  these  speeches  in  mind,  it  is  easier  to 
understand  the  exultation  of  the  Americans  over  the  capture  of 
the  Guerriere  by  the  Constitution^  and,  also,  the  surprise  ex- 
pressed in  the  English  papers  when  it  was  announced  that 
English  frigates  must  sail  in  pairs  for  safety  against  American 
"  line-of -battle-ships  in  disguise."  The  War  of  181 2  was  waged 
by  one  free  people  against  another  free  people  in  the  interest 
of  Napoleon,  the  real  enemy  of  them  both.  It  diverted 
England's  strength  at  a  time  when  it  was  sorely  needed  in 
Europe,  and  it  might  have  been  prevented  at  any  time  before 
1 8 1 2  by  a  few  conciliatory  words  followed  by  conciliatory  deeds. 

It  is  impossible  to  formulate  even  a  rough  estimate  of  the 
strength  of  the  two  combatants.    It  is  equally  ^ 

o  T.       y  Campaigns 

impossible  to  state  the  reasons  for  the  failure  of  1812, 1813, 
of  both  parties  to  accomplish  their  objects.  The  ^"^^^^4- 
people  of  the  North-west  regarded  the  conquest  of  Canada  as 
the  only  means  by  which  an  end  could  be  put  to  the  Indian 
troubles,  and  that  conquest  was  begun  in  a  spirit  of  rashness 
and  with  an  amount  of  ignorance  of  the  character  of  the 
undertaking  which  shows  how  completely  the  lessons  of  the 
Revolutionary  War  had  been  forgotten.  Several  half-trained 
armies,  led  by  incapable  generals,  Hull,  Dearborn,  Van  Ren- 
sselaer, and  Smyth,  crossed  the  border.  The  British  General 
Brock  and  other  able  officers,  with  a  small  but  efficient  body 
of  troops,  soon  put  an  end  to  the  invasion  and  began  a  counter 
attack  on  the  United  States  (1812).  It  is  to  be  regretted  that 
the  British  were  aided  at  this  time  by  a  considerable  body  of 
Indians.  A  victory  of  a  green-timber  navy  under  Perry  (18 13) 
enabled  the  Americans  to  regain  control  of  the  original  territory 


The  Second  War  of  Independence. 


[Chap. 


of  the  United  States.  The  abdication  of  Napoleon  (April, 
1814)  freed  the  hands  of  the  British,  and  the  United  States  was 
invaded  from  three  separate  directions.  On  the  American 
side  the  army  was  now  placed  in  better  hands.  Jacob  Brown, 
a  Quaker  with  slight  experience  in  the  field,  was  given  com- 
mand in  the  North.  He  was  a  man  of  energy  and  was  ably 
seconded  by  his  two  brigadiers,  Winfield  Scott  and  Ripley. 
There  were  several  conflicts,  those  at  Lundy's  Lane  and  Fort 
Erie  being  creditable  to  both  sides.  Indeed,  the  former,  where 
a  small  force  of  Americans  opposed  about  the  same  number  of 
Wellington's  veterans  in  the  darkness  of  night,  is  the  most 
extraordinary  conflict  of  the  war.  But  Brown  accomplished 
little  more  than  to  hold  his  own.  Meantime  a  well-appointed 
army  under  Prevost  had  marched  southward  on  the  line  of 
Lake  Champlain.  But  MacDonough's  victory  gave  the  control 
of  the  water  to  the  Americans,  and  Prevost  was  obliged  to 
return  to  Canada. 

The  same  summer  (18 14)  witnessed  the  burning  of  Wash- 
The  Burning     ington  by  a  force  commanded  by  General  Ross 
of  Washing-      and  Admiral  Cochrane.    Landing  on  the  banks 
ton,  1814.  Patuxent,  the  British  marched  to  Washing- 

ton through  a  sparsely-inhabited  country,  meeting  with  only 
slight  opposition  at  Bladensburg.  They  remained  at  Washing- 
ton long  enough  to  burn  the  public  buildings  —  save  one,  and 
then  retired  in  great  haste  to  their  shipping.  This  incendiarism 
was  perpetrated  by  the  orders  of  the  commanders,  and  under 
their  personal  direction.  It  was  said  to  be  in  retaliation  for  the 
burning  of  the  Assembly  House  at  Toronto  (then  called  York) ; 
but  that  act  had  been  the  work  of  private  soldiers,  and  had 
been  disavowed  by  the  commanding  officer :  and  it  had  already 
been  amply  avenged  by  the  burning  of  Buffalo  by  the  British. 
The  destruction  of  the  public  buildings  at  Washington  aroused 
indignation  in  London  —  one  paper  sorrowfully  remarking: 
"  The  Cossacks  spared  Paris,  but  we  spared  not  the  capital  of 


VII.] 


The  Campaigns  of  1813-15. 


191 


America."  A  subsequent  attack  on  Baltimore  was  repulsed 
with  some  loss  to  the  British,  including  that  of  General  Ross 
the  commander. 

The  last  serious  conflict  of  the  war  was  the  unsuccessful 
campaign  against  New  Orleans,  December  7,  Jackson's 
1814-Jan.  8,  1815,  by  a  formidable  force  led  NiwOrreans, 
by  General  Pakenham,  one  of  Wellington's  sub-  1814-15. 
ordinates.     The  American  commander  in  that  quarter  was 
General  Andrew  Jackson  —  a  man  of  great  energy.    At  first  he 
seems  to  have  been  very  dilatory.    But  when  at  last  he  under- 
stood the  nature  of  the  task,  he  took  prompt  and  effectual 
measures  for  resistance.  The  American  artillery  practice  proved 
to  be  superior  to  that  of  the  British,  and  it  was  due  to  this  fact 
and  to  the  great  difficulties  offered  by  the  physical  conformation 
of  the  country  in  the  vicinity  of  New  Orleans  that  the  attempt 
ended  in  disaster.    The  last  attack  in  this  campaign  was  made 
two  weeks  after  the  signing  of  the  treaty  of  peace  at  Ghent. 

It  was  on  the  water,  however,  that  the  Americans  contrib- 
uted most  to  the  history  of  warfare.  The  Ameri-  ^^^^ 
can  sea-going  navy  consisted  in  18 12  of  three  sutution  ^nd^ 
large  frigates,  known  as  "  forty-fours, "  four  smaller 
frigates,  rated  at  from  thirty-two  to  thirty-eight  guns  each,  and 
a  number  of  sloops-of-war  and  brigs  mounting  from  sixteen  to 
eighteen  guns.  There  were  about  a  dozen  vessels  in  all,  com- 
pared with  more  than  eight  hundred  on  the  British  naval  list. 
It  seemed  to  be  the  height  of  folly  to  send  these  vessels  to  sea 
to  be  picked  up  one  after  another  by  the  fleets  of  Great  Britain, 
and  Madison  desired  to  use  them  as  guard-ships  in  the  larger 
ports.  It  was  not  easy,  however,  to  restrain  the  ardour  of 
officers  like  Decatur  and  Hull,  who  once  at  sea  were  not  likely 
to  regain  the  shelter  of  a  port  without  a  fight  of  some  kind. 
One  of  the  first  to  get  to  sea  was  the  Constitution^  commanded 
by  Captain  Hull,  nephew  to  the  coward  who  had  surrendered 
Detroit.    While  on  a  voyage  from  Annapolis  to  New  York,  he 


192  The  Second  War  of  Independence.  [Chap. 


fell  in  with  a  British  squadron  of  five  ships,  carrying  from  sbiHynu^ 
four  to  thirty- two  guns  each.  From  sundown  on  July  17th  to 
the  morning  of  July  20th  the  squadron  chased  the  single  ship 
through  alternate  calms,  breezes,  and  squalls,  occasionally  get- 
ting near  enough  to  try  the  range  of  a  gun  or  two.  In  the  end, 
Hull  saved  his  ship,  after  one  of  the  most  memorable  chases  in 
naval  annals,  and  reached  Boston  in  safety.  Sailing  thence  on 
August  2nd,  without  any  orders,  except  the  old  ones  to  go  to 
New  York,  he  cruised  about  until  August  19th,  when  he  sighted 
the  British  frigate  Guerriere,  The  Constitutio7i  was  one  hundred 
and  seventy-three  feet  long  and  forty-four  feet  wide.  She  carried 
thirty-two  "long  24' s "  and  twenty  "32  lb."  carronades,  or  fifty- 
two  guns  in  all.  Her  sides  were  very  solid  for  a  ship  of  that 
period,  and  she  was  very  heavily  timbered  throughout.  The 
Guerriere  was  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  feet  long  and  forty  feet 
wide.  She  carried  thirty  "long  i8's,"  two  "long  12's,"  and  six- 
teen "32  lb."  corronades,  or  forty-eight  guns  in  all.  She  was 
not  as  strongly  built  as  her  opponent,  and  not  only  had  four 
guns  less,  but  also  threw  a  much  lighter  broadside.  In  thirty 
minutes  she  lay  a  wreck  on  the  water,  with  seventy-nine  of  her 
crew  killed  or  wounded ;  and  she  sank  soon  after  her  men  had 
been  removed.  On  October  17th,  the  American  sloop-of-war 
Wasp  encountered  the  British  brig  Frolic,  The  Wasp  threw  a 
slightly  lighter  broadside  than  the  Frolic,  and  was  six  feet  longer. 
Both  were  rated  as  carrying  eighteen  guns.  In  forty-three 
minutes  after  the  first  gun  was  fired  the  was  a  wreck,  with 

ninety  of  her  crew  of  one  hundred  and  ten  killed  or  wounded. 
Before  the  end  of  the  year  two  more  British  "  thirty-eights,"  the 
Java  and  Macedonia,  had  struck  to  the  Constitution  and  United 
States. 

The  loss  of  three  frigates  was,  in  itself,  nothing  to  the 
Effects  of        English  navy.    But  the  effect  of  these  battles 
these  sea-         can  be  compared  only  with  that  produced  by  the 
fights.  Monitor-Merrirnac  fight  of  a  half-century  later. 


VII.] 


The  War  on  the  Sea, 


193 


One  English  paper  proposed  that  British  frigates  should  run 
away  from  the  Constitution  on  the  ground  that  she  was  a 
"  seventy-four,"  a  "  line-of-battle-ship  in  disguise."  There  can 
l)e  no  question  that  the  Constitution,  President,  and  United 
States  were  the  most  powerful  frigates  then  afloat.  They  had 
been  designed  with  that  precise  object  in  view,  as  armoured 
cruisers  are  designed  now-a-days.  The  guns  of  the  Constitution, 
on  August  19th,  181 2,  sounded  the  death-knell  of  impressment 
and  the  right  of  search.  It  is  not  necessary  to  enumerate  the 
other  naval  encounters  of  the  war,  except  the  notable  capture 
of  the  American  frigate  Chesapeake  by  the  Shannon,  and  that  of 
the  American  sloop-of-war  Argus  by  the  Pelican,  Most  of  the 
national  vessels  were  kept  in  port  by  the  British  blockading 
squadrons  after  181 2. 

During  the  later  years  of  the  war,  the  American  privateers 
continued  their  hazardous  calling.  They  ran  the 
blockade  almost  with  impunity,  and  established     '^^^  Amen- 

^        ^  ^  can  privateers. 

in  turn  what  might  be  described  as  a  ^^priva- 
teer blockade  "  of  portions  of  the  British  Islands.  Many  of 
these  privateers  were  fine  large  vessels,  carrying  an  armament 
as  heavy  as  that  of  a  sloop-of-war,  and  quite  the  match  of 
an  ordinary  sixteen-gun  brig.  Though  the  fastest  vessels  then 
afloat,  they  were  nearly  all  captured  sooner  or  later.  But  the 
loss  of  one  vessel  seemed  to  stimulate  the  owner  to  construct 
another  and  better  one.  Some  of  them  were  built  and  placed 
on  the  ocean  within  sixty  days.  In  the  course  of  the  war 
they  captured  more  than  two  thousand  five  hundred  British 
vessels,  about  one-half  of  which  were  recaptured  while  on  their 
way  to  America.  In  the  winter  of  1814-15,  the  privateers 
infested  the  British  coasts  to  such  an  extent  that  a  shipowner 
was  fortunate  if  he  could  insure  his  ship  for  ten  or  even  thirteen 
per  cent,  for  a  run  across  the  Irish  Channel.  At  one  time  they 
hovered  about  the  mouth  of  the  Thames,  and  one  little  schooner 
of  two  hundred  tons  captured  a  despatch  boat  in  the  Straits  ol 
C.A.  13 


194  The  Second  War  of  Independence.  [Chap. 


Dover.  The  great  lines  of  commerce  were  also  carefully 
watched.  One  English  ship  captain  reported  that  his  vessel 
was  three  times  captured  and  as  many  times  recaptured  on  a 
voyage  across  the  Atlantic,  adding  that  he  saw  no  less  than  tep 
privateers  on  that  short  passage.  Profitable  commerce  was 
difficult  under  such  conditions ;  and  the  British  merchants  now 
spoke  of  the  United  States  as  a  power  whose  maritime 
strength  we  have  hitherto  impolitically  held  in  contempt." 
Mr  John  Wilson  Croker,  at  that  time  Secretary  of  the  Admiralty, 
threatened  with  condign  punishment  an  enterprising  merchant 
captain  who  had  abandoned  his  convoy  when  within  sight  of 
the  British  coast,  and  had  been  captured.  " Such  illegal  acts," 
said  Mr  Croker,  "are  attended  with  injurious  consequences  to 
the  trade  of  the  country." 

The  contest  between  Napoleon  and  Russia  had  been  renewed 
The  Treaty          J^^^?  i8i2,  four  days  after  the  declaration  of 
of  Ghent,  war  against  England  by  the  American  Congress. 

The  principal  reason  for  this  new  conflict  be- 
tween France  and  Russia  was  the  refusal  of  the  latter  power  to 
enforce  the  continental  system  against  the  Americans  or  to 
compel  the  other  Baltic  powers  like  Sweden  to  enforce  it.  The 
Czar  saw  with  some  dismay  England  and  the  United  States, 
which  should  have  both  joined  him  against  France,  engaging  in 
a  contest  with  one  another.  Mr  John  Quincy  Adams,  son  of 
John  Adams,  was  at  that  time  American  Minister  to  Russia. 
In  September,  1812,  while  Napoleon  was  at  Moscow,  Mr  Adams 
was  informed  of  the  Czar's  concern  and  of  his  desire  to  mediate 
between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States.  On  learning  of 
this  offer,  Madison  sent  Gallatin  and  Bayard  of  Delaware,  a 
Federalist,  to  act  jointly  with  Adams  in  any  negotiation  which 
might  ensue.  But  England,  though  anxious  to  give  no  offence 
to  Russia,  could  not  permit  one  of  the  Baltic  powers  to  mediate 
in  a  matter  which  concerned  the  rights  of  neutrals.  The  offer 
was  therefore  declined,  and  this  same  answer  was  returned  to  a 


vn.] 


The  Treaty  of  Ghent,  1814. 


195 


second  offer  of  mediation.  Lord  Castlereagh,  the  British 
Foreign  Minister,  at  the  same  time  announced  his  willingness  to 
negotiate  directly  with  the  Americans.  But  it  was  not  until  the 
summer  of  18 14  that  the  negotiators  met  for  the  first  time. 
The  American  Commissioners  meanwhile  had  been  reinforced 
by  the  addition  to  their  number  of  Henry  Clay  and  Jonathan 
Russell.  It  seems  probable  that  this  moment  to  begin  negotia- 
tions was  chosen  by  the  British  government  in  the  belief  that 
the  events  of  the  campaign  of  18 14  would  make  the  Americans 
more  pliable  and  more  willing  to  surrender  territory  along  the 
Great  Lakes.  But  the  retreat  of  Prevost  and  the  defence  made 
by  Brown  at  Fort  Erie  put  an  end  to  any  hope  of  an  accession 
of  territory,  and  the  negotiation  was  suddenly  brought  to  a 
conclusion.  The  treaty,  which  was  signed  at  Ghent  on  De- 
cember 24th,  1 8 14,  was  emphatically  a  treaty  of  peace,  in  that 
it  settled  none  of  the  questions  about  which  the  war  ostensibly 
had  been  waged.  Impressment  was  not  even  mentioned  in  it, 
and  the  fall  of  Napoleon  had  done  away  with  the  continental 
system.  Furthermore,  the  American  right  to  the  fisheries  and 
the  British  right  to  the  free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  both 
of  which  had  been  discussed  in  the  course  of  the  negotiation, 
were  left  for  future  settlement.  News  of  the  peace  and  of  the 
repulse  of  Pakenham  at  New  Orleans  reached  Washington  at 
the  same  moment.  The  latter  served  to  make  the  treaty  more 
palatable.  Everywhere  the  rejoicings  were  loud  and  from  the 
heart. 

Indeed,  it  was  time  that  the  war  was  ended,  for  com- 
missioners from  several  New  England  States  were         „  ^ 

°  The  Hart- 

then  at  Washington  to  lay  proposals  before  the  ford  Conven- 
government,  which  looked  to  a  dissolution  of  the  ^814-15. 
Union.    New  England  had  borne  its  full  share  in  the  war.  This 
can  easily  be  seen  from  a  brief  statement  of  the  contributions 
of  Massachusetts  and  Virginia.    The  former  contained  in  18 10, 
the  census  year,  about  seven  hundred  thousand  inhabitants. 

13—2 


196  The  Second  War  of  Independence.  [Chap. 


Virginia  is  credited  in  the  same  census  with  nine  hundred  and 
seventy  thousand  inhabitants,  including  five  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  negro  slaves.  The  two  States  were  represented  in  Con- 
gress by  twenty  and  twenty-three  members  respectively  —  that 
being  also  the  basis  of  the  apportionment  of  direct  taxes;  and 
it  was  supposed  to  represent  the  relative  strength  and  capacity 
of  the  two  States.  Furthermore,  Massachusetts  contributed  four 
times  as  much  money  to  the  support  of  the  war  as  Virginia. 
She  furnished  more  men  to  the  United  States  armies  than 
Virginia,  North  Carolina,  and  South  Carolina  combined  —  more 
men  indeed  than  any  State  except  New  York.  But  the  war  was 
unpopular  in  New  England,  and  the  leading  men  there,  mostly 
of  the  Federalist  party,  had  no  confidence  in  the  administration. 
At  the  suggestion  of  the  Federalist  chiefs,  who  seem  to  have 
adopted  Madison's  Virginia  Resolutions  of  1798  as  their 
text,  delegates  met  at  Hartford  (December,  1814-January, 
1815)  and  adopted  a  proposition  to  permit  the  New  England 
States  to  retain  the  proceeds  of  the  national  taxes  collected 
therein  for  the  purpose  of  paying  State  armies.  The  conven- 
tion further  laid  down,  in  words  which  must  have  sounded 
unpleasantly  familiar  to  Jefferson  and  Madison,  that  the  States 
must  be  the  judges  and  execute  their  own  decisions  when  the 
federal  government  exceeded  its  powers,  on  the  ground  that 
there  was  "no  common  umpire."  Never  was  a  political  revo- 
lution more  ill-timed.  The  treaty  of  peace  was  then  on  its  way 
to  America,  and  six  days  before  the  Hartford  Convention 
adjourned.  General  Jackson  won  the  Battle  of  New  Orleans. 
The  Commissioners,  sent  ,to  Washington  to  arrange  for  the 
division  of  taxes,  hurried  home  amid  the  jeers  of  the  Republican 
press.  The  administration  at  once  leaped  into  great  popularity. 
The  War  of  181 2  settled  two  great  questions  within  the 
United  States.  For  the  first  time  in  its  history, 
Results  of  American  people  in  181  s  realized  its  nation- 

the  War.  r-     r  o 

ality.    The  party  favourable  to  England  lost 


VII.] 


The  Hartford  Convention, 


197 


credit  even  in  its  stronghold.  After  1815  the  Federalist  party 
steadily  declined  until  in  1820  it  cast  not  one  electoral  vote. 
Since  18 15  the  United  States  has  held  resolutely  aloof  from 
foreign  complications,  and  the  American  people,  which  up  to 
that  time  had  been  interested  in  European  affairs,  seemed 
suddenly  to  lose  all  interest  in  them.  They  ceased  to  be 
provincial  and  viewed  affairs  thenceforward  from  a  national 
stand-point.  The  War  of  181 2,  therefore,  has  been  often  and 
correctly  called  the  Second  War  of  Independence. 

The  war  left  the  United  States  in  a  very  critical  condition 
so  far  as  the  finances  were  concerned.     The      „  ,  r  n/r  ^• 

End  of  Madi- 

revenue  of  the  federal  government  was  derived  son's  Ad- 
almost  entirely  from  duties  on  imports.  During  "^^"^^tration. 
the  last  few  years  of  embargo,  non-intercourse,  and  war,  there 
had  been  hardly  any  goods  imported  and  in  consequence  the 
revenues  of  the  government  had  seriously  diminished.  Con- 
gress during  those  years  had  been  singularly  inefficient  and  had 
refused  to  pass  any  effective  measures  for  restoring  the  credit 
of  the  government.  With  the  return  of  peace,  new  forces  at 
once  came  into  existence.  Importations  were  made  on  a  large 
scale  and  Congress  consented  in  18 16  to  re-charter  the  United 
States  Bank  for  twenty  years.  The  same  year  saw  the  passage 
of  the  first  of  a  series  of  tariffs  designed  to  protect  the  makers 
of  textile  goods,  and  Madison  retired  from  office  in  181 7 
leaving  affairs  in  a  most  satisfactory  condition.  His  succes- 
sor was  James  Monroe,  of  Virginia,  who  during  the  last  few 
years  had  been  the  most  prominent  man  in  the  cabinet. 

The  old  issues  which  had  divided  parties  were  now  extinct. 
The  younger  Republicans  had  adopted  nation- 
alist  principles  without  losing  their  popular    Good  Feei- 
instincts.    The  older  Republicans,  discredited 
by  the  failure  of  the  embargo  policy  and  abandoned  by  their 
leaders,  were  obliged  to  follow  the  majority  of  the  party.  The 
Federalist  party  was  hardly  more  than  a  faction  during  Monroe's 


198  The  Second  War  of  Independence.  [Chap. 


first  term,  and  was  practically  extinct  by  the  time  of  his 
second  inauguration  (1820).  This  period  of  cessation  from 
party  strife  is  known  as  the  "  Era  of  Good  Feeling.*'  In  times 
of  political  stagnation  personal  intrigue  takes  the  place  of  party 
action.  So  it  was  in  this  case;  but  fortunately  it  is  not  neces- 
sary to  describe  any  of  these  intrigues  until  we  approach  the 
election  of  1824. 

Monroe  was  well  fitted  to  lead  the  nation  in  the  peaceful 

Monroe's  times  now  approaching.  With  ordinary  abilities 
Administra-  he  Combined  a  large  experience  in  affairs  both  at 
tion,  1817-25.  home  and  abroad-  He  had  shown,  too,  strength 
to  resist  unwise  popular  demands  and  a  capacity  to  rise  above 
a  mere  desire  for  personal  popularity.  He  had  more  sense  of 
dignity  than  Jefferson,  or  even  Madison,  and  he  brought  back  to 
public  life  a  part,  at  least,  of  the  decorum  of  Washington's  time. 
Like  the  first  President,  Monroe  made  progresses  through  the 
country  and  in  this  way  did  something  to  bring  the  federal 
government  before  the  eyes  of  the  people  and  at  the  same  time 
to  win  their  love  and  respect.  The  difficulties  of  his  time  were 
mainly  with  the  outside  world,  with  the  rebellious  Spanish 
American  colonies,  with  Spain,  and  with  Great  Britain.  The 
relations  with  the  last-named  power  were  still  far  from  cordial, 
but  they  were  more  friendly  than  at  any  other  time  since  1775. 
The  Treaty  of  Ghent  was  hardly  more  than  a  basis  for 

Relations  further  negotiation.  In  1815  the  two  countries 
with  Great  entered  into  a  commmercial  convention  which 
Britain.  afforded  slight  relief  as  to  the  West  India  trade, 

but  contained  an  important  provision  to  secure  the  abolition  of 
discriminating  duties  and  charges  in  either  country  against  the 
other.  This  convention  was  limited  to  four  years,  but  was  ex- 
tended for  ten  years  longer  in  18 18.  As  to  the  fisheries,  some 
of  the  rights  claimed  by  the  United  States  under  the  Treaty  of 
1783  were  surrendered  as  the  price  of  a  recognition  of  the  per- 
manent character  of  the  rest.    The  northern  boundary  of  the 


VII.] 


Foreign  Relations, 


199 


United  States  was  fixed  at  the  forty-ninth  parallel  between  the 
Lake  of  the  Woods  and  the  Rocky  Mountains.  An  attempt 
was  made  to  reach  some  agreement  with  a  view  to  the  suppres- 
sion of  the  slave-trade;  but,  owing  to  the  sensitiveness  of  the 
Americans  as  to  the  exercise  of  the  right  of  search,  no  arrange- 
ment was  made  until  many  years  later. 

The  seizure  of  West  Florida  in  18 10  and  181 2  has  been 
already  mentioned.  Since  that  time  the  United  jackson's 
States  had  sought  with  great  pertinacity  to  Florida  Cam- 
purchase  East  Florida  from  Spain.  But  that  p^'^"' 
monarchy,  though  too  weak  to  govern  the  province  itself, 
refused  to  sell  it  to  the  United  States.  Smuggling  was  con- 
stantly carried  on  over  the  boundary  line,  and  the  United 
States  found  it  very  difficult  to  keep  the  Southern  Indians  in 
order  without  pursuing  them  across  the  frontier.  In  18 18, 
General  Andrew  Jackson  followed  a  hostile  band  over  the 
border,  and  finding  that  the  Indians  received  aid  from  the 
Spanish  settlements,  he  captured  two  of  them,  St  Marks  and 
Pensacola.  He  also  executed  two  British  subjects,  Arbuthnot 
and  Ambrister,  who  seemed  to  be  intriguing  with  the  Indians 
against  the  United  States.  The  government,  at  the  moment, 
was  engaged  in  negotiations  for  the  purchase  of  Florida.  It 
did  not  approve  Jackson's  conduct,  and  handed  the  captured 
posts  back  to  the  Spanish  authorities.  John  C.  Calhoun,  then 
Secretary  of  War,  asserted  at  a  cabinet  meeting  that  Jackson 
deserved  to  be  court-martialled  for  disobedience.  Many  years 
afterward,  the  revelation  of  his  attitude  at  this  time  brought 
about  a  rupture  between  Jackson  and  Calhoun,  which  had  the  • 
most  important  results  to  Calhoun  and  to  the  American  people. 
Henry  Clay  endeavoured  in  Congress  to  have  Jackson  brought 
to  account  for  his  arbitrary  proceedings  in  Florida,  and  his  hos- 
tility to  Jackson  also  caused  Clay  much  annoyance  in  later  years. 

Jackson's  raid  really  furthered  the  negotiation  which  John 
Quincy  Adams,  Monroe's  Secretary  of  State,  was  then  carrying 


200  The  Second  War  of  Independence.  [Chap. 


on.    Spain  at  last  consented  to  sell  what  she  could  not  defend, 

and  in  1819  a  treaty  was  signed  at  Washington. 
Tr^aty^^isTg"^^        ^^^^  treaty,  Spain  abandoned  all  claim  to  the 

Floridas  and  to  all  territory  north  and  east  of  a 
line  running  up  the  Sabine  River  and  thence  in  an  irregular 
manner  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  in  latitude  42°,  and  along  that 
parallel  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  The  United  States,  on  its  part, 
abandoned  the  claim  to  Texas,  and  agreed  to  pay  five  million 
dollars  to  its  own  citizens  on  account  of  Spanish  spoliations. 
This  treaty  was  not  ratified  by  Spain  until  1821,  being  held 
suspended,  as  it  were,  over  the  United  States  to  secure  its  good 
behaviour  in  the  Spanish  colonial  crisis  then  prevailing. 
Jackson  was  appointed  Governor  of  Florida,  and  grufily  took 
possession  in  July,  182 1,  imprisoning  the  Spanish  governor 
because  he  would  not  hand  over  the  records  to  the  new  master. 
The  people  of  the  United  States  had  watched  the  long 

struggle  between  the  Spanish  colonists  and  the 
roe  DoctrfnT'"      Spanish  government  with  great  interest.  These 

colonies  had  rebelled  (1808)  originally  against 
the  Napoleonic  regime  in  Spain.  Returning  to  their  allegiance 
upon  the  restoration  of  the  old  monarchy,  they  had  again 
rebelled  when  their  restored  masters  re-imposed  the  Spanish 
colonial  system.  The  matter  now  had  reached  a  stage  at  which 
it  seemed  desirable  for  the  United  States  to  act,  but  beyond 
recognizing  the  rebels  as  belligerents  the  government  did  not 
go  at  that  time.  In  March,  1822,  Monroe  recommended  Con- 
gress to  recognize  the  belligerent  colonies  as  independent  States. 
This  was  done  (May,  1822)  by  the  appropriation  of  money  to 
defray  the  expenses  of  diplomatic  missions  to  "  the  independent 
nations  "  on  the  American  continent.  The  United  States  thus 
led  the  way  in  the  recognition  of  these  new  peoples.  The  next 
year  (1823)  the  "Holy  Alliance  "  seemed  to  be  about  to  inter- 
fere in  the  contest  in  the  interests  of  Spain.  Russia  also  chose 
this  time  to  begin  the  colonization  of  the  western  shores  of 


VII.] 


The  Monroe  Doctrine, 


201 


North  America.  The  closing  of  the  Spanish  American  ports  to 
foreign  commerce  would  greatly  interfere  with  the  foreign  trade, 
not  of  those  colonies  or  States  alone,  but  of  the  United  States 
and  of  Great  Britain  as  well.  The  interests  of  the  two  English- 
speaking  nations  were  one.  Mr  George  Canning  was  once 
more  at  the  head  of  the  British  foreign  office,  owing  to  the 
suicide  of  Lord  Castlereagh.  Adopting  for  the  moment  a  most 
conciliatory  tone,  he  asked  Mr  Richard  Rush  —  then  American 
Minister  at  London  —  if  it  were  not  feasible  for  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain  to  act  together  in  opposing  this  project 
of  the  "Holy  Alliance."  The  time  was  not  yet  ripe  for  such 
co-operation,  but  the  two  governments  acted  in  harmony.  In 
his  Seventh  Annual  Message  (December,  1823),  Mr  Monroe 
used  the  following  language,  whose  import  was  unmistakable : 

"The  occasion  has  been  judged  proper  for  asserting,  as  a 
principle  in  which  the  rights  and  interests  of  the  United  States 
are  involved,  that  the  American  continents,  by  the  free  and 
independent  condition  which  they  have  assumed  and  maintain, 
are  henceforth  not  to  be  considered  as  subjects  for  future 
colonization  by  any  European  powers. 

"We  owe  it,  therefore,  to  candour,  and  to  the  amicable  re- 
lations existing  between  the  United  States  and  those  powers 
[the  members  of  the  'Holy  Alliance'],  to  declare,  that  we 
should  consider  any  attempt  on  their  part  to  extend  their  sys- 
tem to  any  portion  of  this  hemisphere  as  dangerous  to  our 
peace  and  safety.  With  the  existing  colonies  or  dependencies 
of  any  European  power  we  have  not  interfered,  and  shall  not 
interfere.  But  with  the  governments  who  have  declared  their 
independence,  and  maintained  it,  and  whose  independence  we 
have  on  great  consideration  and  on  just  principles  acknowl- 
edged, we  could  not  view  any  interposition  for  the  purpose  of 
oppressing  them,  or  controlling  in  any  other  manner  their 
destiny,  by  any  European  power,  in  any  other  light  than  as 


202"         The  Second  War  of  Independence,  [Chap. 

the  manifestation  of  an  unfriendly  disposition  toward  the 
United  States." 

These  famous  sentences,  which  have  immortalized  Monroe's 
name,  and  given  him  a  place  in  American 
po^^y"*"^'^  history  which  he  did  not  otherwise  attain,  were 
the  embodiment  of  previous  statements  and  of 
^a  policy  well  established  at  that  time  in  America.  Monroe's 
courageous  act  in  declining  Canning's  overtures  and  defying 
the  ".Holy  Alliance  "  single-handed  merited  the  renown  which 
has  ever  «ince  attached  to  the  enunciation  of  the  Monroe 
Doctrine.  Mr  Canning,  on  his  part,  caused  the  French  gov- 
ernment to  be  informed  that  the  use  of  force  by  the  "  Holy 
Alliance  "  would  at  once  lead  to  the  recognition  of  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  Spanish  colonies  by  Great  Britain.  The 
projects  of  the  "Holy  Alliance  "  fell  dead.  With  this  matter 
the  old  international  policy  of  the  United  States  may  be 
said  to  have  terminated.  At  almost  the  same  time,  the 
internal  struggle  over  protection  and  the  extension  of  slavery, 
which  was  to  dominate  the  politics  of  the  next  half-century, 
began. 

Like  so  many  important  events  in  the  world's  history,  the 
^,   ...       .    contest  as  to  the  limitation  of  slave  territory. 

The  Missouri  ^  ' 

Compromises,  which  began  at  this  time,  was  largely  due  to 
1820-21.  accident.    Mason  and  Dixon's  line,  separating 

the  slave  and  the  free  States  in  the  East,  ran  sixteen  miles  south 
of  the  fortieth  parallel.  By  the  Ordinance  of  1787,  the  Ohio 
River  formed  the  northern  limit  of  sla\  e  territory  in  the  district 
between  the  Alleghanies  and  the  Mississippi.  The  course  of 
that  river  is  to  the  south  of  west,  and  it  joins  the  Mississippi 
River  in  about  the  thirty-seventh  degree  of  latitude.  Louisiana, 
acquired  in  1803,  contained  two  centres  of  population,  New 
Orleans  and  St  Louis.  Slavery  prevailed  in  the  Province  of 
Louisiana  as  in  all  Spanish  colonies.  The  country  dependent 
on  New  Orleans  was  admitted  to  the  Union  in  181 2,  under  the 


VII.]  The  Missouri  Compromises,  203 

name  of  Louisiana,  as  a  slave  State,  without  any  objection  being 
raised  on  that  ground.  In  18 19  the  question  of  admitting 
Missouri,  as  the  country  dependent  on  St  Louis  was  now 
named,  came  before  Congress.  The  southern  limit  of  the  prq.- 
posed  State  of  Missouri  was  36°  30'  north  latitude,  the  northern 
limit  about  40°  30',  and  it  was  separated  by  the  Mississippi 
from  the  free  State  of  Illinois,  which  had  been  admitted  to  the 
Union  in  18 18.  Some  persons  in  the  North  thought  that 
slavery  should  not  be  permitted  at  all  in  territory  acquired  at 
the  expense  of  the  nation.  Others  thought  that  the  southern 
boundary  of  Missouri  (36°  30'  north  latitude),  which  would  be 
practically  an  extension  of  the  Ohio  River  line,  should  be  a 
line  separating  the  Louisiana  Purchase  into  free  and  sl^e  terri- 
tories. The  matter  was  further  complicated  by  the  fact  that 
slavery  existed  in  Missouri.  What  should  be  done  with  the 
slaves  already  there  ?  How  could  they  be  feet  free  without  loss 
to  their  masters  or  cost  to  the  nation,  or  without  disturbing  the 
social  conditions  of  the  proposed  State?  The  problem  was  a 
difficult  one  to  solve.  The  slave-holding  representatives  cared 
much  more  about  the  matter  than  the  Northern  members,  and 
a  compromise  was  arranged.  By  this  settlement  (1820)  Mis- 
souri was  to  be  admitted  as  a  slave  State,  but  slavery  was 
"for  ever"  prohibited  in  the  remainder  of  the  Louisiana  Pur- 
chase lying  north  of  thirty-six  degrees  ^nd  thirty  minutes,  the 
southern  boundary  of  the  new  State.  When,  however,  the 
constitution  of  Missouri  came  before  Congress  in  the  next  year 
(182 1)  it  was  found  to  contain  a  clause  forbidding  the  entrance 
of  free  blacks  to  the  State.  As  the  Constitution  (under  the 
interpretation  then  put  upon  it)  guaranteed  certain  rights  to  the 
citizens  of  the  United  States,  the  clause  could  not  be  allowed 
to  stand.  This  matter  too  was  compromised  by  Congress 
admitting  Missouri  under  the  proposed  constitution,  with  the 
proviso  that  no  interpretation  should  ever  be  placed  on  that 
clause  which  should  in  any  way  diminish  the  rights  of  citizens 


204  The  Second  War  of  Independence,  [Chap. 


of  the  United  States.  These  Missouri  Compromises  postponed 
the  conflict  with  the  slave  power  for  a  whole  generation  and 
thus  may  be  considered  to  have  been  justifiable. 

Monroe's  first  administration  was  in  many  respects  the  most 
successful  in  the  history  of  the  country.  He  was  re-elected  Pres- 
ident in  182 1  without  opposition,  receiving  two  hundred  and 
thirty-one  of  the  two  hundred  and  thirty-two  electoral  votes. 
The  one  odd  vote  was  thrown  away  by  a  New  Hampshire  elector, 
who  was  determined,  so  runs  the  story,  that  no  one  save  Wash- 
ington should  enjoy  the  honour  of  an  unanimous  election.  As 
to  Monroe's  successor  there  was  no  such  unanimity  of  opinion. 

When  one  speaks  of  the  "  Era  of  Good  Feeling  "  one  thinks 
more  particularly  of  the  people  as  a  whole. 
of'iSjzV^^^^**^"  Among  the  leading  politicians  there  was  no  good 
feeling  at  all.  Monroe  had  gathered  about  him 
four  of  the  ablest  men  in  the  country:  J.  Q.  Adams,  Secretary 
of  State;  W.  H.Crawford,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury;  J.  C. 
Calhoun,  Secretary  of  War;  and  William  Wirt,  Attorney- 
General.  The  first  three  of  these  aspired  to  succeed  Monroe 
at  the  end  of  his  second  term.  Two  other  men,  Henry  Clay 
of  Kentucky  and  Andrew  Jackson  of  Tennessee,  also  decided  to 
be  candidates.  Crawford  was  the  most  active  of  them  all.  He 
was  a  skilful  intriguer,  and  turned  the  Treasury  department  into 
a  strong  political  machine.  To  aid  him  in  this  business  he 
secured  (1820)  the  passage  of  an  Act  limiting  the  tenure  of 
civil  offices  to  four  years.  This  enabled  him  to  drop  from 
the  Treasury  all  officials  who  were  unfavourable  to  his  preten- 
sions. His  action  marks  the  beginning  of  the  systematic  use  of 
the  federal  patronage  for  party  purposes.  Crawford  was  recog- 
nized by  a  factional  congressional  caucus  as  the  "regular  "  can- 
didate for  the  presidency.  Calhoun  abandoned  his  presidential 
aspirations  for  the  moment  to  accept  an  assured  election  to  the 
vice-presidency.  Adams  was  put  forward  as  a  candidate  by  the 
New  England  legislatures;  and  Clay,  in  a  similar  manner,  was 


VII.] 


The  Election  of  1824. 


205 


nominated  by  the  legislatures  of  five  States,  including  that  of 
his  own  State.  Jackson  was  nominated  by  two  State  legisla- 
tures, those  of  Tennessee  and  Pennsylvania.  He  represented 
in  his  own  person  the  honest  hard-working  masses ;  and  to  the 
amazement  of  nearly  everyone,  received  more  electoral  votes 
than  any  other  candidate.  As  he  had  not  attracted  a  majority, 
however,  the  election  went  to  the  House  of  Representatives, 
which  was  confined  in  its  choice  to  the  three  candidates  who 
had  received  the  largest  number  of  votes.  Clay  stood  fourth 
on  the  list,  and  therefore  could  not  be  chosen.  He  had  many 
friends  in  the  House  of  which  he  was  Speaker,  and,  using  his  in- 
fluence in  favour  of  Adams,  that  candidate  was  elected.  There 
was  no  constitutional  reason  to  prevent  the  Representatives 
from  electing  whichever  of  the  three  highest  candidates  they 
chose  —  although  now-a-days  public  sentiment  would  probably 
require  the  choice  of  the  first  on  the  list.  There  is  no 
reason  whatever  for  supposing  that  Adams  and  Clay  made  any 
bargain.  It  was  unfortunate,  however,  that  Adams  offered  Clay 
the  position  of  Secretary  of  State,  and  that  Clay  accepted  the 
ofBce.  There  are  always  persons  who  insist  on  finding  evil 
motives  for  the  actions  of  great  men.  John  Randolph  was  one 
of  these,  and  he  lost  no  time  in  denouncing  what  he  termed 
"a  combination  of  the  Puritan  and  the  black-leg."  'Jackson 
on  his  part  stated  his  opinion  of  the  matter  when  he  declared 
that  Clay  was  "the  Judas  of  the  West."  The  close  of 
Monroe *s  administration  was  in  every  respect  the  end  of  the 
"Era  of  Good  Feeling." 

John  Quincy  Adams  was  an  honest,  upright  statesman; 
but  the  story  of  his  administration  (1825-20)      ,  ^ 

\       J     y ;       J  Q.  Adams's 

is  melancholy  and  soon  told.    It  began  in  a  Administra- 
cloud  caused  by  charges  of  "  corruption  and  '^^5-29- 
bargain,"  which  were  never  proved.    They  were  constantly 
reiterated  until  even  those  who  knew  them  to  be  false  must 
have  begun  to  doubt  the  evidence  of  their  own  senses.  The 


2o6  The  Second  War  of  Independence,  [Chap. 


first  Congress  of  Adams's  administration  was  lukewarm,  the 
second  was  decidedly  hostile.  The  public  suspicions  were 
kept  on  the  alert  by  constant  and  causeless  inquiries  and 
investigations  into  the  actions  of  public  officials.  Everything 
that  Adams  proposed  was  proposed  either  too  soon  or  too  late. 
He  suggested  in  general  terms  a  vast  system  of  internal  im- 
provements. This  was  displeasing  to  the  Southerners,  who 
were  now  turning  away  from  a  national  policy  and  beginning 
to  formulate  the  doctrine  of  "States-rights.'*  Even  in  matters 
of  foreign  policy,  Adams's  own  peculiar  province,  everything 
went  amiss. 

Among  other  proposals  of  the  time  was  one  for  a  Congress 
of  all  the  American  Republics  to  be  held  at 
lations.^''  Panama.  This  did  not  originate  with  the  United 

States,  but  that  government  was  naturally  asked 
to  send  delegates  to  the  meeting.    The  Southerners,  fearing 
lest  slavery  might  be  discussed  there,  opposed  the  scheme. 
Nevertheless,  delegates  were  sent,  and  the  Congress  proved  a 
flat  failure.    Nor  was  Adams's  conduct  of  the  relations  with 
European  powers  more  successful.    A  series  of  accidents  re- 
sulted in  the  closing  of  the  British  West  India  ports  to  Ameri- 
can vessels.    Gallatin  was  sent  to  England  to  negotiate  on  this 
business,  but  Canning  curtly  declined  to  discuss  it  at  all. 
The  only  important  legislative  achievement  of  the  four 
years  was  the  passage  of  the  Tariff  Act  of  1828, 
Adams's         which  will  be  described  in  the  next  chapter.  But 

home  policy.  ^ 

this  Act,  which  was  very  distasteful  to  the  South, 
only  weakened  Adams  still  more.  Had  he  been  unscrupulous, 
he  might  have  organized  the  government  service  into  a  strong 
party  "machine."  But  he  steadily  refused  to  use  the  govern- 
ment patronage  for  his  personal  advancement.  Bearing  all 
these  facts  in  mind,  it  is  not  strange  that  Adams  was  defeated 
in  the  election  of  1828.  It  is  remarkable,  however,  that  he 
received  as  many  electoral  votes  then  as  in  1824. 


vn.]  y  Q-  Adams  s  Administration. 


207 


The  campaign  of  1828  was  fought  with  a  bitterness  and 
intemperance  only  equalled  by  that  of  the  cam- 
paign of  1800.  Jackson's  canvass  was  managed  of^82V^^^^^°" 
by  Martin  Van  Buren,  of  New  York,  a  skilful  and 
unscrupulous  politician,  and  by  a  few  of  Jackson's  personal 
friends.  The  charges  of  corruption  and  fraud  were  made  over 
and  over  again,  and  Adams  was  held  up  to  scorn  as  a  President 
who  had  not  been  elected  by  the  people.  It  was  well  under- 
stood that  Jackson  was  a  man  "who  stood  by  his  friends,"  and 
those  who  worked  in  his  interests  felt  reasonably  sure  of  some 
reward.  Adams's  canvass  was  managed  by  Clay,  and  the  con- 
test seemed  to  be  a  conflict  between  Jackson  and  Clay  rather 
than  between  Jackson  and  Adams.  In  the  end,  it  was  found 
that  while  Adams  received  as  many  votes  as  he  had  before, 
the  electoral  votes  which  in  1824  had  been  given  to  Jackson, 
Crawford,  and  Clay,  were  now  all  given  to  Jackson,  who  re- 
ceived one  hundred  and  seventy-eight  votes  out  of  a  total  of 
two  hundred  and  sixty-one.  Calhoun  was  re-elected  Vice- 
President  by  a  somewhat  smaller  vote  than  that  given  to 
Jackson. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


DEMOCRACY. 


The  election  of  General  Jackson  to  the  presidency  was 
Importance  most  important  event  in  the  history  of  the 

of  Jackson's  United  States  between  the  election  of  Jefferson 
Election.  ^g^^        ^j^^^      Lincoln  sixty  years  later. 

Madison,  Monroe,  and  John  Quincy  Adams  belonged  to  the 
Jeffersonian  school  of  statesmen  who,  while  holding  liberal 
views,  yet  represented  in  their  education  and  habits  of  thought 
the  older  and  more  courtly  type  of  statesmen  of  which  Wash- 
ington was  the  most  conspicuous  example.  Jackson,  on  the 
contrary,  was  an  indigenous  product  of  the  American  soil. 
Vigorous,  and  absolutely  without  fear,  he  was  a  born  leader  of 
men.  The  Jeffersonian  theory  aimed  rather  at  the  establishment 
of  State  democracies,  while  Jackson's  mission  was  the  founding 
of  a  national  democracy.  The  succession  of  Secretaries  of 
State  to  the  chief  magistracy  was  rudely  interrupted  by  the 
elevation  of  a  man  of  the  people  to  that  office.  It  will  be  well 
to  examine  with  care  the  condition  of  the  country  at  an  epoch 
which  is  so  important  from  a  political  point  of  view,  and  one 
which  was  also  midway  between  the  downfall  of  federalism  and 
the  abolition  of  slavery. 

The  total  population  of  the  country  had  increased  from  a 
little  over  five  and  a  quarter  million  souls  in  1800  to  nearly 
thirteen  millions  in  1830.    The  area  of  the  United  States 

208 


Chap.  VIII.]       The  United  States  in  1830.  209 


had  increased  during  the  same  period  from  eight  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  to  over  two  million  square  miles. 
Of  the  total  population,  more  than  two  millions  of^pop^^^^^^^ 
were  negro  slaves,  and  about  three  hundred  thou- 
sand were  ^ree  negroes.  The  white  population,  therefore,  was 
something  over  ten  and  one-half  millions.  The  tendency  toward 
town  life  becomes  fairly  apparent  during  this  period,  owing  to 
the  increasing  importance  of  manufacturing  and  commercial 
pursuits.  The  inhabitants  of  New  York  City  had  increased 
from  sixty  thousand  in  1800  to  two  hundred  and  three  thousand 
in  1830  —  the  increase  in  the  last  decade  (1820-30)  being  eighty 
thousand.  The  other  large  cities  were  Philadelphia,  with  one 
hundred  and  sixty-seven  thousand  inhabitants,  Baltimore  with 
eighty  thousand,  and  Boston  with  sixty-one  thousand.  New 
Orleans,  containing  forty-six  thousand  souls,  was  the  only  city 
of  any  size  south  of  the  Potomac  and  Ohio  Rivers.  Charleston, 
Savannah,  Richmond,  and  Norfolk  had  not  increased  in  pro- 
portion to  the  total  populations  of  the  several  States  in  which 
they  were  situated;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  Cincinnati  on 
the  northern  bank  of  the  Ohio  was  already  a  flourishing  town 
of  twenty-four  thousand  inhabitants. 

The  total  population  had  more  than  doubled  in  thirty  years, 
but  this  increase  was  unevenly  distributed.  In 
1800,  the  free  inhabitants  had  been  divided  be-    tht  po^puiat^on 
tween  the  North  and  the  South  in  the  propor- 
tion of  twenty-five  to  thirteen.  In  1830,  regarding  Missouri  and 
all  territory  to  the  southward  of  36°  30'  N.  L.  and  west  of  the 
Mississippi  as  belonging  to  the  South,  and  preserving  to  the 
east  of  that  river  the  old  dividing  line,  it  is  found  that  the  pro- 
portion of  free  population  in  the  North  to  that  in  the  South  was 
about  the  same  as  in  1800.    But  the  South  had  maintained 
her  position  only  through  the  acquisition  of  Louisiana  and  the 
Floridas  and  the  rapid  settlement  of  the  lands  bordering  on  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico.    The  tendency  of  slavery  to  limit  population 
C.  A.  14 


2IO 


Democracy. 


[Chap. 


can  be  easily  ascertained  from  a  study  of  the  figures  relating  to 
the  original  thirteen  States.  In  1800,  the  free  whites  in  the 
North,  omitting  now  those  living  west  of  the  Alleghanies,  had 
outnumbered  those  of  the  South  by  nearly  two  to  one;  in  1830 
they  outnumbered  them  by  five  to  one.  The  introduction  of 
some  improvement  in  transport,  or  the  encouragement  of  North- 
ern manufactures,  or  both  in  combination,  might  give  the  free 
North  in  a  few  years  a  population  outnumbering  the  free 
population  of  the  Southern  slave  States  all  told,  five  to  one, 
and  the  fate  of  slavery  would  be  sealed.  The  Missouri  Com- 
promises postponed  the  conflict  until  the  introduction  of  steam 
gave  the  people  of  the  North  an  easy  means  of  transport,  and 
also  imparted  a  great  impulse  to  manufactures. 

Since  1800  the  structure  of  society  had  undergone  a  radical 
Changes  in      change.   Virginia,  dominant  in  1800,  was  of  no 
the  structure  of    morc  importance  in  1830  than  half-a-dozen  other 
society.  States.    The  race  of  statesmen  who  were  at  the 

same  time  philanthropists  and  philosophers  had  come  to  an 
end.  It  is  indeed  lamentable  that  nearly  every  means  employed 
by  them  for  the  regeneration  of  Virginia  only  hastened  its 
decline.  Jefferson^  by  his  Act  abolishing  entails  (1776),  and 
Madison  and  Henry  by  their  disestablishment  of  the  Episcopal 
Church  (i 776-1800),  contributed  to  the  destruction  of  the  old 
aristocratic  framework;  and  they  substituted  nothing  in  its 
place.  Had  they  been  able  to  abolish  slavery,  the  history  of 
Virginia  would  surely  have  been  very  different  in  the  years 
following  1830.  They  were  not  able  to  accomplish  that,  and 
Virginia  became  the  great  slave-producing  State.  The  South 
was  now  led  by  the  representatives  of  the  cotton  growers 
of  the  region  south  and  south-west  of  Virginia.  Their  best 
customers,  especially  after  181 1,  were  the  spinners  of  Western 
England,  and  thus  there  came  about  a  trade  alliance,  so  to 
speak,  in  which  the  affiliations  of  1830  were  completely  re- 
versed.   The  South  now  was  friendly  to  Great  Britain,  and  the 


VIII.] 


Social  Conditions y  1830. 


211 


people  of  New  England,  competing  with  the  British  manufact- 
urers, were  opposed  to  their  former  friends.  New  England, 
like  Virginia,  seemed  to  be  on  the  decline.  The  sudden 
cessation  of  war  throughout  the  world,  in  1815,  brought  her 
shipping  at  once  into  competition  with  the  shipping  of  other 
nations,  and  her  factories  were  closed  by  an  avalanche  of 
goods  sent  over  from  England  and  sold  for  whatever  prices 
they  would  bring.  The  people  emigrated  from  New  England 
in  large  numbers  and  settled  in  the  fertile  regions  of  western 
New  York  and  of  the  new  States  north-west  of  the  Ohio. 
In  other  ways  a  great  change  had  come  over  New  England. 
The  religious  monopoly  hitherto  enjoyed  by  the  Congregational 
Church  was  now  fast  yielding  to  the  liberal  tendencies  em- 
bodied in  Unitarianism.  A  speedy  revival  of  thought  was  the 
result  of  this  breaking  down  of  old  barriers. 

The  opening  of  the  Erie  Canal  in  1825  was  the  beginning  of 
a  vast  system  of  improved  means  of  communi- 
cation. This  waterway,  connecting  the  Hudson  ^^^^^  canals, 
and  Lake  Ontario,  gave  the  great  North-west  an  outlet  to 
the  sea.  The  cost  of  transporting  a  ton  of  grain  from  the 
Great  Lakes  to  the  seaboard  at  once  fell  from  one  hundred 
dollars  to  ten.  The  canal  paid  for  itself  in  a  few  years,  and 
made  New  York  City  the  great  distributing  centre  of  the  United 
States.  The  people  went  mad  on  the  subject  of  canals.  All 
ma^er  of  possible  and  impossible  schemes  were  at  once  put 
into  execution.  The  most  remarkable  of  these  later  canals  was 
the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Canal,  designed  to  connect  the  tide- 
water with  the  great  interior  waterways.  John  Quincy  Adams 
threw  the  first  spadeful  of  earth,  and  by  his  display  of  physical 
vigour,  enjoyed  the  only  moment  of  popularity  during  the  course 
of  his  unfortunate  administration.  These  canals  were  worked 
by  horse  power,  and  were  most  of  them  failures,  for  the  times 
demanded  the  employment  of  a  more  rapid  agent. 

The  steam-boat  had  already  taken  a  prominent  place  as  a 

14 — 2 


212 


Democracy. 


[Chap. 


means  of  transport.   The  monopoly,  which  Fulton  and  Living- 
ston sought  to  establish  of  the  former's  inven- 
boats^.^^  ^^^^"^  been  declared  unconstitutional,  and 

the  building  and  operating  of  vessels  propelled 
by  steam  had  become  free  to  all.  Great  advances  were  made 
in  the  building  and  equipping  of  these  boats.  Special  types 
were  designed  for  lake  and  river,  and  the  use,  the  reckless  use, 
of  the  steam-boat  became  universal.  What  with  canal-boat 
and  steam-boat,  one  could  travel  through  the  settled  portions 
of  the  country  with  only  slight  and  occasional  recourse  to  the 
stage-coach.  The  steam-boat,  however,  soon  found  a  rival  in 
the  steam  locomotive. 

The  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Railway,  opened  in  1830,  at 
once  found  imitators  in  America.  In  three  years' 
roads^^  time,  three  hundred  and  eight  miles  of  railroad 

were  in  operation  in  the  United  States.  The  most 
notable  of  the  earlier  railway  enterprises  was  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio.  Begun  not  long  after  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Canal, 
and  with  the  same  end  in  view,  the  road  builders  passed  the  canal 
diggers  at  Harper's  Ferry.  The  original  road  was  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  long,  and  is  believed  to  have  been  the  first  single 
railroad  of  that  length  to  be  built.  At  the  outset,  these  roads 
were  designed  to  connect  towns  already  in  existence.  After- 
wards the  railroad  generally  was  built  first,  giving  the  means  of 
settlement  to  a  new  section  of  the  country,  and  then  transport- 
ing the  produce  of  that  region.  As  a  rule  these  roads  were  built 
in  the  flimsiest  manner,  as  rapidly  as  possible,  and  afterwards 
improved  as  fast  as  financial  conditions  permitted.  In  this 
way,  the  railroad  was  the  most  important  agent  in  the  settlement 
of  the  newer  States.  But  it  was  not  until  after  1850  that  this 
part  of  its  mission  was  undertaken  on  a  great  scale.  It  is  an 
interesting  fact  that  of  the  thirty  railroads  first  projected  only 
three,  and  those  three  short  lines,  were  designed  to  be  built 
south  of  the  Potomac.    Finally,  the  use  of  anthracite  coal  in 


VIII.] 


The  Spoils  System, 


213 


warming  houses,  and  of  illuminating  gas  for  the  lighting  of 
streets  and  houses  altered  in  many  respects  the  whole  indoors 
life  of  the  urban  population  of  the  North. 

The  reign  "of  "  Old  Hickory, "  as  his  friends  delighted  to 
call  General  Jackson,  began  with  a  most  indecent  Beginning  of 
mob  reception,  given  at  the  White  House  on  the  the  spoils 
night  of  the  inauguration.  For  weeks  and  months  ^y^*®"^'  ^^^9- 
thereafter,  the  executive  mansion  was  thronged  by  office-seekers. 
"To  the  victors  belong  the  spoils"  was  now  the  watchword. 
Jackson  removed  office-holders  who  had  not  shouted  lustily  for 
him;  but  even  if  a  clean  sweep  had  been  made,  he  could  not 
have  satisfied  the  demands  of  his  adherents.  He  did  what  he 
could,  and  left  as  a  legacy  to  the  nation  a  vicious  mode  of 
using  the  civil  service  which  has  blackened  his  memory  to  all 
time.  Jackson  represented  the  radical  tendencies  of  the  Re- 
publican party,  as  Adams  and  Clay  stood  for  its  conservative 
tendencies.  At  first,  their  adherents  were  known  respectively 
as  Jackson-men  and  Adams-men.  Soon,  however,  names  were 
applied  which  more  nearly  represented  the  two  shades  of 
opinion.  The  Jackson-men  called  themselves  Democratic 
Republicans,  and  the  Adams-men  formed  the  National  Re- 
publican party.  Gradually  both  factions  forgot  their  Repub- 
licanism, the  former  became  the  Democrats  of  a  little  later 
time,  the  latter  were  absorbed  into  parties  with  new  desig- 
nations. 

The  first  great  political  contest  of  Jackson's  administra- 
tion arose  on  the  question  of  financial  policy. 
In  1 816,  a  moderate  protective  tariff  had  been 

'  ^  and  the  tariff. 

passed  to  help  the  manufacturers  to  tide  over  the 
dull  period  which  followed  the  close  of  the  war.  Protection 
breeds  protection.  The  manufacturers  obtaining  some  aid  de- 
manded more,  and  received  it  in  an  amended  tariff  passed  in 
1824.  Nothing  satisfied  their  craving  for  protection,  and  they 
clamoured  for  still  more.    In  1828  a  new  tariff  act  was  passed 


214 


Democracy, 


[Chap. 


which  is  known  as  the  Tariff  of  Abominations  "  from  the  ex- 
orbitant protection  it  gave  to  a  few  branches  of  manufactures. 
This  contest  over  the  tariff  produced  some  astonishing  results, 
as  unexpected  as  they  were  important.  In  the  first  place,  the 
remnant  of  the  Federalist  party  disappeared,  as  the  New  England 
manufacturers,  in  order  to  carry  their  desires  into  law,  needed 
the  votes  of  the  Republicans.  In  the  second  place,  an  alliance 
between  the  East  and  the  West  was  entered  into,  which  lessened 
the  power  of  the  South  in  the  national  councils.  This  alliance 
was  brought  about  somewhat  as  follows.  The  protective  tariffs 
produced  more  revenue  than  the  ordinary  needs  of  the  govern- 
ment required;  and  partly  to  conceal  this  fact,  it  was  proposed 
that  the  national  government  should  undertake  many  internal 
improvements  "  calling  for  large  expenditures.  This  system, 
under  which  the  revenue  derived  from  taxes  imposed  for  the 
purpose  of  stimulating  home  industries,  was  applied  to  the 
opening  of  new  lines  of  internal  communication,  conferred 
great  benefits  on  the  North.  The  South  reaped  slight  ad- 
vantage from  it,  and  it  bore  severely  upon  the  South' s  best 
customers  —  the  English  manufacturers.  In  1818  mutterings 
of  discontent  over  the  new  policy  were  heard  in  South  Carolina. 
The  Southern  members  of  Congress,  however,  occupied  a 
peculiar  position  in  regard  to  the  Tariff  of  1828.  Many  of 
the  "  abominations  "  had  been  inserted  in  the  bill  by  their  votes. 
They  had  pursued  this  policy  in  the  hope  that  the  bill  might 
be  made  so  outrageous  that  it  could  not  pass.  The  Southerners 
were  mistaken,  and  the  bill,  abominations  and  all,  became  law. 
Precisely  how  much  injury,  if  any,  this  tariff  would  have  in- 
flicted on  South  Carolina  has  never  been  ascertained.  Nor  is 
the  question  an  important  one.  There  undoubtedly  was  a  sense 
of  grievance,  and  John  C.  Calhoun  and  other  South  Carolina 
leaders  regarded  this  as  a  good  opportunity  to  formulate  the 
"States-rights"  doctrine  of  "State  interposition,"  even  to  the 
nullifying,  or  rendering  of  no  legal  effect,  Acts  of  the  National 


VIII.] 


Webster  and  Hayne, 


215 


Congress.  This  idea  was  not  a  new  one  in  any  way.  It  had 
been  set  forth  by  Jefferson  in  1798  and  by  the  legislators 
of  Kentucky  in  1799.  More  recently  (1804-15)  it  had  been 
advanced  in  a  somewhat  modified  form  by  the  New  England 
Federalists.  It  maybe  regarded,  therefore,  at  this  date,  as  the 
theory  of  the  weaker  party,  but  it  had  the  approval  of  both 
of  the  great  parties  existing  at  the  time  of  the  organization 
of  the  government.  It  was  now  to  be  pushed  to  its  logical 
conclusion  by  the  South  Carolinians.  The  first  encounter, 
however,  between  the  new  forces  of  nationalism  and  those 
supporting  the  revived  separatist  theories  of  the  Confederation 
epoch,  took  place  on  another  subject. 

In  1830,  Senator  Foote  of  Connecticut  introduced  a  resolu- 
tion of  inquiry  as  to  the  method  of  disposal  of 
the  public  lands.  The  Southerners  thought  that  H^ne^^^'  ^""^ 
the  moment  had  come  when  the  alliance  between 
the  West  and  the  East  might  be  destroyed.  Calhoun,  as  Vice- 
President,  could  not  take  part  in  the  debate;  but  Senator 
Hayne,  of  South  Carolina,  who  frequently  acted  as  Calhoun's 
spokesman,  undertook  the  task.  He  attacked  New  England 
with  great  vehemence,  endeavouring  to  represent  that  section  as 
wishing  to  check  the  growth  of  the  West.  Daniel  Webster,  of 
Massachusetts,  replied  in  a  speech  which  shattered  every  argu- 
ment that  had  fallen  from  Hayne.  Angered  and  mortified 
beyond  restraint,  Hayne  returned  to  the  attack.  In  his  second 
speech,  he  drifted  far  away  from  the  subject  in  hand,  and  laid 
down  in  a  clear  and  lucid  manner  the  Calhoun  theory  of 
nullification.  In  his  magnificent  rejoinder,  Mr  Webster  set 
forth  what  may  well  be  called  the  modern  theory  of  the  Consti- 
tution—  namely,  that  it  was  in  no  sense  a  compact,  but  an 
instrument  whereby  the  "people  of  the  United  States  "  formed 
a  strong  centralized  government,  with  ample  power  to  enforce 
its  rights;  that  for  a  State  to  resist  the  enforcement  of  a  law 
was  revolution  if  it  succeeded,  rebellion  if  it  failed.    The  right 


2l6 


Democracy. 


[Chap. 


of  revolution  was  acknowledged  by  Mr  Webster,  and  is  the 
very  root  of  the  American  theory  of  government.  But  the 
Calhoun  doctrine  seemed  to  him  to  imply  that  one  could 
revolt,  and  at  the  same  time  continue  to  be  a  good  citizen. 
Mr  Webster's  argument  was  historically  unsound.  When  the 
Constitution  was  made  in  1787-89,  it  was  considered  in  the 
light  of  a  grand  political  experiment  —  the  State  governments, 
on  the  other  hand,  were  established  facts.  Nevertheless, 
Webster's  argument  expressed  the  true  basis  of  the  Constitu- 
tion in  1830,  and  ever  since;  for  those  who  stood  behind 
Webster  in  1830,  undoubtedly  regarded  the  central  govern- 
ment not  merely  as  an  established  fact,  but  as  paramount 
to  the  States.  This  was  due,  of  course,  in  great  measure, 
to  the  success  which  had  crowned  the  federal  organization; 
and,  it  was  also  due,  in  part,  to  the  fact  that  the  inhabitants 
of  the  new  States,  settled  after  1789,  never  could  have  the 
same  sentiment  toward  their  State  as  did  the  people  of  the 
States  which  had  existed  before  the  formation  of  the  govern- 
ment under  the  Constitution.  Hayne  represented  the  forces 
and  ideas  of  the  past,  Webster  the  ideas  and  tendencies  which 
were  to  be  predominant  in  the  future. 

Nothing  daunted  by  this  repulse,  the  Southern  leaders 
pressed  on,  and  soon  received  a  blow  from  an 
po^s^ticm"'*  unexpected  quarter.  They  had  regarded  Presi- 
dent Jackson  as  at  one  with  them  on  questions  of 
"  States-rights. "  Jackson  believed  that  the  Constitution  should 
be  strictly  construed  —  except,  perhaps,  where  his  own  powers 
were  concerned.  He  had  no  sympathy  whatever  with  sepa- 
ratism. Attending  a  dinner  to  commemorate  the  services  of 
Thomas  Jefferson,  he  astonished  the  company,  which  was 
assembled  in  the  cause  of  States-rights,"  by  proposing  as  a 
toast :  "  Our  Federal  Union :  it  must  be  preserved. "  At  nearly 
the  same  time,  Jackson  became  aware  of  Calhoun's  statement, 
made  in  the  cabinet  in  18 16,  that  he,  Jackson,  deserved  to  be 


VIII.] 


Nullification,  1832-33. 


217 


tried  by  a  court  martial  for  his  proceedings  in  Florida.  Jackson 
had  always  supposed  that  Calhoun  had  sustained  him  at  that 
time.  This,  of  course,  made  the  shock  the  more  severe.  There 
was  little  mercy  for  the  nullifiers  at  the  hands  of  the  executioner 
of  Arbuthnot  and  Ambrister;  there  was  absolutely  nothing 
bright  in  the  political  future  of  John  C.  Calhoun,  so  far  as  it 
depended  on  Andrew  Jackson. 

Recognizing  the  justness  of  many  of  the  objections  urged 
against  the  tariff  of  1828,  Congress  passed 
an  act  in  1832  which  substantially  re-enacted  tiil?i832-33. 
the  much  milder  tariff  of  1824.  But  this  did 
not  in  any  way  mollify  the  South  Carolina  malcontents.  They 
held  a  State  Convention  (November,  1832)  which  declared 
that  the  Acts  of  1828  and  1832  were  null  and  void,  and 
prohibited  the  payment  of  duties  under  those  laws,  after 
February  ist,  1833.  Jackson  was  not  slow  to  make  reply,  nor 
was  his  meaning  difficult  to  understand.  He  issued  a  Procla- 
mation (December  nth,  1832),  in  which  he  declared  that  "the 
laws  of  the  United  States  must  be  executed.  .  .  .  Their  [the 
nullifiers']  object  is  disunion,  and  disunion  by  armed  force 
is  treason."  He  also  asked  Congress  for  increased  power  to 
enforce  the  laws.  South  Carolina  met  with  no  favouring 
response  from  her  sister  State.  Virginia,  pretending  to  act  in 
the  somewhat  extraordinary  guise  of  '^mediator"  between  the 
national  government  and  a  State,  advised  South  Carolina  to 
suspend  the  "  Nullification  Ordinance."  The  Convention  was 
no  longer  in  session,  nor  was  the  State  legislature,  but  it  w^as 
evident  that  Jackson  was  in  earnest.  The  South  Carolina 
leaders,  therefore,  held  an  informal  meeting,  and  nullified  the 
voice  of  "  the  people  of  South  Carolina  in  Convention  assem- 
bled," by  suspending  the  operation  of  the  Nullification  Ordi- 
nance (January  31,  1833),  before  any  resistance  had  been  made 
to  the  federal  laws.  There  is  something  ludicrous  in  a  con- 
stitutional theory  which  empowers  one  party  to  a  compact 


2l8 


Democracy. 


[Chap. 


(supposing  the  Constitution  to  have  been  a  compact)  to  over- 
rule the  wishes  of  the  other  twenty  —  or,  supposing  the  theory 
to  be  still  (1894)  tenable,  of  the  other  forty-three  partners  in 
the  agreement.  There  is  something  ridiculous  in  a  coterie  of 
politicians  presuming  to  overrule  the  will  of  the  people,  and  to 
settle  the  fate  of  a  nation  or  nations  at  an  irregular  meeting. 
The  election  of  1832  had  been  held  in  November  of  that 
-  ,  year.    Tackson  had  been  re-elected  President  by 

Jackson  re-         j  j  j 

elected  Pres-  two  hundred  and  nineteen  votes  out  of  a  total 
ident,  1832.         ^^^^  hundred  and  eighty-eight.  South 

Carolina  was  the  only  Southern  State  which  had  voted  solidly 
against  him,  although  a  majority  of  the  electoral  votes  of  Mary- 
land were  given  for  Clay.  That  statesman  —  the  candidate  of 
the  National  Republicans  —  received  forty-nine  votes.  Cal- 
houn had  lost  his  place  in  Jackson's  regard,  and  in  the  affections 
of  the  party,  and  Van  Buren  became  the  Democratic  candidate 
for  the  vice-presidency.  He  was  elected  and  presided  over 
the  deliberations  of  the  Senate,  which  had  recently  refused  to 
confirm  him  as  Minister  to  England.  The  election  of  1832 
is  memorable,  as  being  the  first  time  that  party  conven- 
tions were  held  to  nominate  a  candidate  for  the  presidency. 
It  was  also  at  this  time  that  resolutions  embodying  the  prin- 
ciples of  a  party  were  first  drawn  up  and  issued  as  the 
platform"  on  which  a  party  candidate  was  supposed  to 
stand.  These  changes  were  inaugurated  by  a  new  party  —  the 
first  political  organization  to  base  its  claims  to  power  on  the 
ground  of  a  single  idea.  This  was  the  anti-Masonic  party, 
which  originated  in  a  movement  in  New  York  against  the  Free- 
masons. The  charge  that  a  former  Freemason  had  been  mur- 
dered because  he  had  revealed  the  secrets  of  the  Order  was 
never  met  by  that  body  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  public,  and  was 
the  ostensible  ground  for  the  party's  existence.  In  reality, 
the  anti-Masonic  movement  was  the  result  of  a  feeling  of 
unrest  and  dissatisfaction  with  the  existing  organizations.  In 


VIII.]  The  Compromise  Tariff  of  1833.  219 


this  party  were  several  young  men  destined  to  play  prominent 
parts  in  national  politics,  among  them  William  H.  Seward. 

Jackson  seemed  to  feel  that  his  triumphant  re-election  was 
in  the  nature  of  a  mandate  from  the  people  to 
proceed  against  the  United  States  Bank,  and  to  Numficatlon 
coerce  South  Carolina.  The  latter  business  was 
as  a  matter  of  fact  compromised.  Two  bills  were  passed  in 
succession:  one,  the  Force  Bill  (March  2,  1833),  gave  Jackson 
the  powers  he  needed  to  enforce  the  laws;  the  other,  which 
passed  the  next  day,  was  the  panacea  which  Clay  thought  best 
suited  to  preserve  the  Union.  It  was  a  compromise  tariff, 
providing  for  a  gradual  reduction  of  duties,  during  a  period  of 
ten  years,  to  the  general  level  of  the  tariff  of  18 16.  The  Nulli- 
fying Convention  of  South  Carolina  met  again  (March  11,  1833), 
and  formally  repealed  the  Nullification  Ordinance,  and  passed 
another,  nullifying  the  Force  Bill.  It  has  long  been  a  question 
as  to  which  party  came  out  of  this  struggle  victorious.  On  the 
one  hand.  South  Carolina  procured  the  repeal  of  the  tariff  acts 
of  which  she  complained.  On  the  other  hand,  no  actual  resist- 
ance was  ever  offered  to  the  United  States ;  no  law  was  actually 
nullified,  and  nullification  never  became  embodied  in  the  con- 
stitutional practice  of  the  country.  Some  writers  think  that  if 
there  had  been  no  compromise,  the  Calhoun  school  of  theorists 
would  have  been  taught  a  lesson  by  Jackson,  which  would  have 
prevented  the  Civil  War.  Others  assert  that  South  Carolina 
was  really  beaten  in  1832-33,  and  to  justify  themselves,  point 
to  the  fact  that  the  tariff  of  1842  was  not  nullified.  But  these 
are  speculations  with  which  the  historical  student  really  has 
nothing  to  do.  In  the  matter  of  the  Bank,  at  all  events,  there 
was  no  compromise. 

The  Charter  of  the  Second  Bank  of  the  United  States 
was  to  expire  in  1836.    At  one  time  its  affairs 
had  fallen  into  confusion,  but  in  18^0,  and  for 

'  ^   '  the  deposits. 

some  years  previously,  it  was  well  managed  under 


220 


Democracy. 


[Chap. 


the  direction  of  Nicholas  Biddle,  its  President.  Besides  this 
great  national  bank  with  its  numerous  branches,  there  were 
innumerable  State  banks  chartered  by  the  State  legislatures. 
Many  of  these  State  banks  were  political  institutions,  managed 
in  the  interests  of  this  or  that  political  clique.  The  odium 
aroused  by  the  mismanagement  of  these  banks  reacted  upon  the 
United  States  Bank.  Undoubtedly  Jackson  was  sincere  in  his 
belief  that  the  latter  was  a  great  political  machine,  and  for  this 
conclusion  there  seems  to  have  been  some  reason.  The  cause 
of  the  Bank  was  championed  by  Jackson's  rival,  Henry  Clay, 
who  showed  as  poor  judgment  in  this  case  as  he  had  shown  years 
before,  when  he  accepted  a  seat  in  Adams's  cabinet.  In  1831, 
five  years  before  the  charter  would  expire,  he  forced  an  issue 
upon  the  granting  of  a  new  charter.  Both  Houses  of  Congress 
passed  a  bill  for  this  purpose  which  was  vetoed  by  Jackson, 
and  Clay's  majority  in  Congress  was  not  sufficient  to  pass  it 
over  the  President's  veto.  The  election  of  1832  had  been 
fought  partly  on  this  issue,  and  Jackson  felt  that  the  voters 
approved  the  policy  embodied  in  his  veto.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  the  Bank  had  taken  part  in  this  campaign,  nor  can 
there  be  any  dispute  that  the  power  exercised  by  the  President 
of  the  Bank  was  dangerous  to  the  country,  or,  at  least,  easily 
might  become  so.  It  was  solvent,  however,  and  unless  some- 
thing should  occur  out  of  the  ordinary  course,  it  was  likely  to 
continue  solvent.  Nevertheless,  Jackson  determined  to  cease 
depositing  the  public  funds  in  the  Bank  and  to  draw  out  gradu- 
ally, in  the  ordinary  course  of  business,  the  funds  already  on 
deposit,  amounting  to  some  nine  million  dollars.  Under  the 
Act  incorporating  the  Bank  the  power  to  do  this  belonged  to 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  and  not  to  the  President.  Jackson 
experienced  some  difficulty  before  he  found  a  Secretary  to  do 
his  bidding.  Indeed  he  drove  two  Secretaries  from  office  before 
a  third  appointee,  Roger  B.  Taney,  of  Maryland,  proved  willing 
to  take  the  responsibility.    The  so-called  "removal  of  the  de- 


VIII.] 


yackson  and  the  Bank. 


221 


posits "  extended  over  a  period  of  six  months,  and  was 
therefore  not  so  harsh  a  measure  as  the  phrase  would  seem  to 
imply.  In  the  Senate,  where  the  opponents  of  Jackson  were 
in  a  majority,  this  action  was  denounced  with  great  vehemence 
by  Clay  and  Webster.  The  Senators  even  went  so  far  as  to 
pass  a  vote  of  censure  on  the  President.  This  drew  from 
Jackson  a  most  caustic  protest,  in  which  he  laid  down  the  theory 
of  the  absolute  independence  of  the  three  great  departments  of 
the  government.  A  few  years  later,  the  vote  of  censure  was  ex- 
punged from  the  Journal  of  the  Senate.  The  public  funds  were 
then  deposited  in  certain  specified  State  banks  —  popularly 
known  as  the  "pet  banks."  The  efforts  of  the  Bank  of  the 
United  States  to  protect  its  credit,  and  to  meet  the  drafts  of 
the  government,  necessitated  the  calling  in  of  loans;  and  a 
dangerous  scarcity  of  money  occurred  before  affairs  settled 
themselves  on  the  new  basis.  At  the  expiration  of  its  charter, 
the  Bank  secured  a  charter  from  the  Pennsylvania  legislature, 
and  continued  in  existence  as  a  State  bank. 

Jackson's  foreign  policy  was  as  vigorous  as  his  action  in 
domestic  affairs,  and  as  triumphant  as  Adams's 
had  been  unsuccessful.  Van  Buren,  the  Secretary  foJe^gn  poUcy. 
of  State,  veiled  the  iron  hand  of  his  master  in  the 
velvet  glove  of  an  astute  politician.  The  dispute  with  England, 
which  Jackson  had  inherited  from  his  predecessor,  was  easily 
settled.  Canning  died  in  1829,  and,  in  the  Ministry  which 
succeeded  his  short  administration.  Lord  Aberdeen,  ever  con- 
ciliatory, took  the  foreign  portfolio.  Congress  passed  an  Act 
enabling  the  President  to  declare  void  certain  laws,  which  bore 
heavily  on  British  commerce,  whenever  Great  Britain  should 
withdraw  her  restrictions.  Negotiation  was  thus  made  easy,  and 
the  matter  was  soon  settled  in  a  way  satisfactory  to  the  United 
States.  With  France,  Jackson  had  more  trouble.  For  years, 
successive  governments  had  endeavoured  to  induce  France 
to  pay  for  Napoleon's  unjustifiable  spoliations  of  American 


222 


Democracy, 


[Chap. 


commerce  since  1803.  In  1830,  the  Revolution  of  July  placed 
Louis  Philippe  and  Lafayette  at  the  head  of  affairs.  A  treaty 
was  signed  the  next  year  by  which  the  French  government  agreed 
to  pay  five  million  dollars  in  settlement  of  these  claims.  It  proved 
to  be  a  very  difficult  matter  to  secure  the  payment  of  the  money, 
and  at  one  time  it  seemed  as  if  war  was  imminent  between  the 
two  countries.  In  a  game  of  bluster  Jackson  had  no  superior, 
and  he  had  also  the  capacity  to  strike  hard,  which  one  does  not 
ordinarily  associate  with  bluster.  France  finally  paid  the  money 
in  1835.  Jackson  furthermore  secured  the  settlement  of  long- 
standing disputes  with  Denmark  and  with  Spain,  while  nations 
like  Austria,  which  up  to  this  time  had  held  aloof,  seemed  to 
recognize  in  Old  Hickory "  and  the  people  at  his  back,  a 
nation  with  whom  it  would  be  well  to  be  on  friendly  terms. 
In  other  financial  concerns  besides  the  Bank,  Jackson 
enjoyed  great  present  success,  although  he  be- 
poHc^y^"^*^^  queathed  a  heavy  burden  to  his  successor.  On 
January  ist,  1835,  the  last  instalment  of  the 
National  Debt  was  paid,  and  the  American  people,  alone  of 
modern  nations,  stood  wondering  at  the  thought  of  having  neither 
principal  nor  interest  to  pay.  In  point  of  fact,  the  matter  was 
exceedingly  embarrassing;  for  the  Compromise  Tariff  Act  of 
1833  prevented  the  reduction  of  duties,  except  in  the  manner 
therein  specified.  The  government  was  collecting  much  more 
money  than  it  could  spend  on  current  expenses,  and  it  was 
difficult  to  find  a  constitutional  means  of  escape.  The  govern- 
ment could  not  hoard  the  money  as  it  does  now-a-days,  because 
the  independent  treasury  system  had  not  then  been  devised; 
and  no  one  advocated  depositing  larger  balances  with  the  "pet 
banks."  The  surplus  might  have  been  used  to  make  internal 
improvements  had  not  taxation,  for  such  a  purpose,  been  against 
one  of  the  cardinal  maxims  of  Democratic  constitutional  inter- 
pretation. Finally,  it  was  decided  to  loan  the  surplus  above 
five  millions  to  the  States  in  proportion  to  their  representation 


VIII.]  yackson's  Specie  CirculaVy  1836.  223 


in  Congress.  The  money  was  to  be  "deposited,"  but  no  one 
expected  it  ever  would  be  demanded  of  the  States,  and  this 
phrase  was  selected  to  avoid  the  constitutional  objection  that 
Congress  had  no  power  to  raise  money  by  taxation  to  pay  over 
to  the  States.  Three  quarterly  payments  were  made  under  this 
act  in  1837,  and  then  the  government  found  itself  obliged  not 
merely  to  cease  "depositing"  money  with  the  States,  but  to 
.  borrow  money  itself  to  pay  current  expenses. 

The  apparent  success  of  Jackson's  financial  policy  led  to 
disaster.  The  "pet  bank"  scheme  resulted  in 
the  formation  of  a  vast  number  of  banks  eager  circlfiar^^iSs^e. 
to  share  in  the  spoil;  and  the  overthrow  of  the 
United  States  Bank,  as  a  great  controlling  financial  insti- 
tution, removed  the  only  conservative  force  which  could  have 
restrained  speculation.  A  period  of  "  wild-cat  banking  "  set  in. 
"Rag-money"  was  poured  out  by  these  institutions  as  fast  as 
the  presses  could  supply  it.  The  currency  became  disreputable. 
Jackson,  acting  on  his  own  responsibility  in  this  instance,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  Bank,  issued  a  "Specie  Circular"  in  1836,  di- 
recting that  nothing  save  gold,  silver,  and  notes  of  specie-paying 
banks  should  be  received  in  payment  for  the  public  lands. 
This  affected  especially  the  banks  in  the  more  recently  settled 
portions  of  the  country,  but  it  greatly  helped  to  overturn  the 
credit  system  everywhere.  Money  suddenly  became  very  dear, 
loaning  rates  being  as  high  as  twenty-four  per  cent.  The  price 
of  the  necessaries  of  life  also  increased  enormously.  Every 
one,  however,  went  on  with  his  speculations,  and  Jackson  left 
office  in  March,  1837,  before  the  crash,  proclaiming  his  belief 
in  the  efficacy  of  his  "Specie  Circular"  to  set  all  things  right. 

Jackson's  successor  as  President  was  Martin  Van  Buren, 
formerly  his  Secretary  of  State  and  more  recently  Buren 
Vice-President.  Van  Buren  had  risen  to  political    elected  Pres- 
power  by  the  employment  of  methods  similar  to  ^^^^* 
those  which  had  given  Burr  his  political  strength.    He  was 


224 


Democracy, 


[Chap. 


regarded  by  his  contemporaries  as  a  self-seeking  office  monger, 
and  was  held  responsible  for  most  of  the  evil  acts  of  Jackson. 
There  was  some  reason  for  this  belief,  as  Van  Buren,  in  order 
to  win  the  Democratic  nomination,  had  accepted  responsibility 
for  Jackson's  acts  in  promising  to  carry  on  his  policy.  It  seems 
probable,  however,  that  Van  Buren  had  not  regarded  the  politi- 
cal proscription  of  the  early  years  of  Jackson's  administration 
as  justifiable,  and  had  done  something  to  mitigate  its  severity. 
But  he  was  obliged  to  bear  the  blame  for  the  financial  collapse 
of  1837,  and  for  the  rascality  which  then  came  to  light  on  the 
part  of  many  of  Jackson's  appointees. 

The  panic  of  1837  had  no  counterpart  in  the  annals  of  the 
..o  w        United  States  up  to  that  time.    The  State  banks 

The  *•  Sub-  ^ 

treasury  "  failed,  among  them  the    pet  banks, "  which  held 

scheme.  public  funds  to  the  amount  of  some  nine  million 

dollars  at  the  time  of  their  bankruptcy.  The  United  States 
issued  treasury  notes  to  tide  over  the  crisis;  but  what  could  be 
done  with  the  moneys  received  by  the  government?  Van  Buren, 
himself,  seems  to  have  conceived  the  plan  of  an  independent 
government  treasury,  apart  from  the  financial  institutions  of  the 
country.  Three  times  the  plan  was  voted  down  in  Congress, 
but  in  1840  it  was  passed  in  an  amended  form.  This  act  pro- 
vided for  the  construction  of  vaults  at  Washington  and  at  other 
important  points  in  the  country.  At  these  places  the  public 
funds  should  be  received,  held,  and  paid  out  on  the  proper  au- 
thority. From  this  latter  feature  of  the  plan,  it  is  generally  known 
as  the  sub- treasury  scheme.  This  was  the  only  important  act  of 
Van  Buren' s  administration.  His  firmness  and  constancy  on  this 
and  other  points  of  financial  and.  administrative  reform  made 
him  unpopular.  The  Democratic  party  was  regarded  as  re- 
sponsible for  the  panic,  and  was  discredited  by  the  corruption 
discovered  in  many  branches  of  the  government  service.  Anew 
party  had  meantime  come  into  existence  calling  itself  Whig,  to 
distinguish  its  reforming  tendencies  from  what  was  regarded  as 


VIII.] 


The  Campaign  of  1840. 


225 


the  Toryism  of  the  Democrats.  All  the  factions  opposed  to  the 
Democrats  gathered  under  the  new  standard.  Of  this  party, 
Clay  was  the  ablest  man,  but  he  was  at  this  time  unpopular,  and 
a  Whig  convention  nominated  William  Henry  Harrison,  the 
"victor  at  Tippecanoe,"  for  President,  on  no  platform  except 
that  of  opposition  to  Democratic  Van  Burenism.  For  Vice- 
President,  they  nominated  Tyler  of  Virginia — a  lifelong  Demo- 
crat—  in  the  expectation  that  he  would  attract  Democratic 
votes.  "Tippecanoe  and  Tyler  too"  proved  to  be  a  popular 
battle-cry.  With  ill-timed  spite,  a  Democratic  leader  asserted 
that  if  Harrison  were  given  a  log  cabin  and  a  barrel  of  cider  he 
would  sit  down  in  contentment  and  cease  to  trouble  the  Demo- 
crats. The  gibe  was  at  once  assumed  as  a  mark  of  honour, 
and  Harrison  became  the  log-cabin,  cider-drinking  candidate. 
On  the  other  side  it  was  asserted  that  Van  Buren  sat  in  stuffed 
chairs  and  ate  out  of  gold  spoons —  in  short,  that  he  was  an  aris- 
tocrat. The  campaign  was  fought  on  these  lines.  Log  cabins 
were  erected  everywhere,  and  were  carried  on  wheels  by  long 
processions  of  men  shouting  lustily  for  "Tippecanoe."  There 
has  been  nothing  like  the  campaign  of  1840,  before  or  since. 
Harrison  was  elected  by  two  hundred  and  thirty-four  electoral 
votes  to  only  sixty  given  to  Van  Buren. 

General  Harrison  was  a  sincere  honest  man  of  sixty-nine. 
He  seems  to  have  felt  himself  to  be  an  exponent 
of  real  democracy  against  the  aristocracy  which  Hanison°^i84i 
had  masqueraded  under  that'  name  during  Van 
Buren' s  tenure  of  office.  He  therefore  placed  himself  at  the  dis- 
posal of  all  who  wished  to  see  him.    His  supporters  thronged  to 
Washington  in  search  of  offices,  some  of  them  even  sleeping  in 
out-of-the-way  corners  of  the  White  House,  that  they  might  be 
the  first  to  greet  the  General  in  the  morning,  and  thus  better 
their  chances  for  a  place.    The  constant  pressure  bore  heavily 
on  the  old  man.    He  caught  cold  and  died  on  April  4th,  1841, 
just  one  month  after  his  inauguration  to  his  high  office.  For  the 
C.A.  IS 


226 


Democracy, 


[Chap. 


first  time  in  the  history  of  the  country,  a  Vice-President,  John 
Tyler,  of  Virginia,  became  President,  by  reason  of  the  death  of 
his  chief. 

Tyler's  sympathies  were  with  the  Democrats  rather  than 
with  the  Whigs,  and  it  soon  became  apparent 
Tyler's  Ad-  intend  to  be  domineered  over  by 

ministration. 

Clay  and  the  other  leaders  of  the  party.  Congress 
met  in  May,  and  Clay  produced  an  elaborate  plan  of  legislation. 
The  first  bill  to  pass  the  two  houses  was  one  to  repeal  the 
Independent  Treasury  Act  of  1840.  To  this  Tyler  assented. 
But  when  the  proposal  to  establish  a  new  National  Bank 
came  up,  he  was  firm  in  his  refusal  to  permit  any  legislation 
of  the  kind.  He  vetoed  two  acts  in  succession  —  the  latter  of 
which  was  drawn  up  to  meet  suggestions  of  his  own.  The 
Whig  leaders  were  furious,  and  read  him  out  of  the  party. 
The  Democrats  would  not  act  harmoniously  with  him,  and  the 
singular  spectacle  was  presented  of  a  President  without  a  party, 
and  a  successful  party  unable  to  carry  its  policy  into  effect. 
Two  other  measures  in  Clay's  programme  were  carried  through 
Congress  and  assented  to  by  the  President.  One  of  these  pro- 
vided for  the  payment  to  the  States  of  the  proceeds  of  the  sales 
of  public  lands,  but  it  was  made  nugatory  by  the  addition 
that  this  should  take  place  only  when  the  tariff  on  imports 
should  fall  below  twenty  per  cent,  ad  valorem^  which  it  never 
did.  The  other  measure  was  the  Tariff  Act  of  1842,  which 
considerably  increased  the  duties  as  finally  levied  under  the 
Compromise  Tariff  of  1833. 

Harrison  had  gathered  about  him  an  able  set  of  cabinet 
The  Ash         adviscrs,  of  whom  Daniel  Webster,  Secretary  of 
burton  Treaty,     State,  was  the  most  prominent.    They  were  at 

first  retained  by  Tyler,  but  they  all  resigned  save 
Webster  at  the  time  of  the  Bank  veto.  Webster  alone  remained 
to  conclude  important  negotiations  with  Great  Britain.  The 
negotiators  of  the  Treaty  of  1783  had  unwittingly  agreed  to  a 


VIII.]  The  Ashbiirton  Treaty y  1842.  227 


boundary  between  the  United  States  and  the  British  Provinces 
on  the  north-east,  which  proved  to  be  nearly  impossible  to 
determine  on  the  ground.  Each  mile  of  it  might  almost  be 
said  to  bristle  with  difficulties.  After  many  fruitless  attempts 
to  settle  the  matter  by  direct  negotiations,  the  two  governments 
referred  the  dispute  to  the  King  of  the  Netherlands  as  arbiter. 
He  decided  (1829)  in  favour  of  neither  party,  but  proposed  a 
compromise  —  which  he  had  no  authority  to  do.  Mr  Webster 
and  Lord  Ashburton,  the  head  of  the  Baring  family,  and  now 
British  Minister  at  Washington,  agreed  to  a  compromise.  The 
United  States  gave  way  somewhat  as  to  the  boundary  line  of 
the  State  of  Maine,  and  received  an  important  strip  in  northern 
New  York,  containing  Rouse's  Point,  which  had  been  fortified 
by  the  Americans  before  an  accurate  survey  had  disclosed  the 
fact  that  it  was  in  reality  north  of  the  northern  boundary  of 
New  York,  and  therefore  in  Canada.  At  the  same  time,  extra- 
dition of  specified  classes  of  criminals  was  provided  for,  and  a 
long  series  of  negotiations  looking  toward  the  suppression  of 
the  African  slave-trade  was  brought  to  a  satisfactory  conclusion. 
The  point  at  issue  in  this  case  was  the  exercise  by  British  naval 
officers  of  the  right  to  search  vessels  flying  the  American  flag  in 
order  to  discover  if  they  were  slavers.  Upon  the  question  of 
right  of  search,  the  American  public  was  very  sensitive.  The 
issue  was  now  evaded  by  the  conclusion  of  the  cruising  con- 
vention," which  obliged  each  nation  to  keep  a  squadron  of  a 
certain  strength  always  cruising  on  the  slave  coast.  Mr  Webster 
having  accomplished  this,  followed  his  colleagues  out  of  office. 
The  treaty  was  not  well  received  in  England  by  all  parties. 
Some  persons  even  called  it  the  "Ashburton  capitulation,"  in 
token  of  their  dislike.  It  appears,  however,  that  had  Webster 
been  correctly  informed  he  need  not  have  yielded  as  much  as 
he  did  as  to  the  north-eastern  boundary  of  Maine. 

The  interest  of  American  politics  from  this  time  onwards 
turns  more  and  more  on  the  constitutional  struggle  against  the 

15—2 


228 


Democracy. 


[Chap. 


extension  of  slavery  and  against  the  theory  of  secession.  The 
Beginning  Missouri  Compromise  (1820)  had  established  a 
of  the  struggle  feeling  in  the  country  that  the  compromise  line 
over  slavery.  would  Separate  for  ever  the  territory  devoted  to 
freedom  from  that  given  over  to  slavery.  The  breaking  of  the 
compromise  by  the  addition  of  a  strip  of  western  land  to  Mis- 
souri, in  1836,  had  not  disturbed  this  feeling  of  confidence. 
Nor  did  the  fact  that  several  of  the  eastern  slave-States  were 
north  of  the  compromise  line  suggest  that  one  day  an  effort 
might  be  made  to  increase  the  size  of  the  region  consigned  to 
the  slave-owners.  Yet  some  attempt  at  the  extension  of  that 
territory  was  inevitable.  The  surest  and  easiest  way  would 
have  been  to  absorb  new  lands  to  the  south-west,  and  perhaps 
also  to  add  Cuba  and  other  West  India  Islands  to  the  United 
States.  This  extension  of  slave  territory  was  necessary  to  the 
slave-power,  as  it  was  apparent  that  the  control  of  all  the 
branches  of  the  national  government  might  at  any  time  belong 
to  the  people  of  the  free  States  of  the  North,  unless  new  do- 
mains were  opened  to  slavery.  Representation  in  the  popular 
branch  of  the  national  legislature  was  based  upon  popula- 
tion—  slaves  being  estimated  at  only  three-fifths  of  their 
actual  number,  and  Presidential  electors  were  apportioned 
according  to  the  same  ratio,  with  two  additional  electors  for 
each  State.  The  Senate  offered  the  only  security  to  the  slave- 
power,  for  there  each  State  had  two  votes.  Only  by  increasing 
slave  territory  or  by  adding  to  the  number  of  slave-States,  could 
the  South  hope  to  retain  control  of  even  one  branch  of  Congress 
and  thus  to  prevent  legislation  hostile  to  slavery.  The  Census  of 
T  840  showed  clearly  that  the  South  was  falling  behind  in  the  in- 
crease of  population.  This  was  due  to  the  fact  that  slave  labour 
was  suitable  only  to  agriculture  and  also  tended  to  keep  out  the 
free  immigrants  from  Europe,  who,  almost  without  exception, 
either  remained  in  the  manufacturing  and  commercial  centres 
of  the  North,  or  settled  in  the  agricultural  regions  of  the  West. 


VIII.] 


Annexation  of  Texas. 


229 


Southern  statesmen,  therefore,  cast  about  them  for  new  territory 
to  annex  to  the  United  States  that  would  be  suitable  to  slavery. 
In  this  way  their  attention  was  directed  to  Texas. 

In  182 1  Mexico  had  revolted  from  Spain  and  formed  a 
federative  republic.  Later  Texas,  the  most 
north-eastern  province  and  the  one  nearest  the  of^w^w^^^^" 
United  States,  revolted  in  turn  from  Mexico. 
The  settlers  of  that  province  were  largely  from  the  United 
States.  Led  by  Samuel  Houston,  of  Tennessee  —  a  friend 
of  Jackson's  —  they  defeated  the  Mexicans  under  Santa  Anna, 
on  the  San  Jacinto,  and  organized  the  Republic  of  Texas 
(1836).  The  independence  of  the  new  nation  was  recognized 
by  the  United  States  and  by  some  other  powers  in  1837. 
Texas  almost  immediately  sought  admission  to  the  American 
Union.  But  the  attempt  to  bring  this  about  was  certain  to 
arouse  dangerous  contentions,  and  Jackson  and  Van  Buren 
had  declined  the  earlier  overtures.  Tyler,  himself  a  slave- 
owner, viewed  the  matter  more  favourably,  and  negotiations 
ripened  into  a  treaty  of  annexation,  which  was  submitted  to 
the  Senate  for  ratification  in  1844.  It  failed  to  secure  the 
necessary  votes,  and  was  rejected.  This  was  partly  due  to 
the  clandestine  manner  in  which  the  treaty  had  been  made. 
The  controversy  proved  to  be  the  leading  issue  in  the  Presi- 
dential campaign  of  that  year  (1844).  Many  persons  preferred 
to  use  the  word  re-annexation  in  place  of  annexation  —  imply- 
ing thereby  that  the  United  States  in  absorbing  Texas  would 
be  only  taking  territory  to  which  she  was  justly  entitled. 

The  Whig  candidate  for  President  in  1844  was  Henry  Clay, 
a  slave-owner  from  Kentucky.    He  seemed  to 
have  two  minds  on  the  question  of  admitting  13^^^^^^°" 
Texas,  writing  letters  of   approval  and  dis- 
approval, as  if  trying  to  compromise  with  himself  on  the 
matter.    The  Democratic  candidate  was  James  K.  Polk,  of 
Tennessee,  who  had  been  Speaker  of  the  National  House  of 


230 


Democracy,  ^  [Chap. 


Representatives.  He  owned  slaves  and  was  outspoken  in  his 
desire  for  the  admission  of  Texas.  Tyler  had  intrigued  for  a 
re-nomination,  but,  conscious  that  he  had  no  chance  of  being 
elected,  he  withdrew  and  Polk  was  nominated.  Meantime  a 
party,  advocating  the  abolition  of  slavery,  had  sprung  up  in 
the  North.  It  was  known  as  the  Liberty  party,  and  held  the 
balance  of  power.  Had  the  voters  of  this  party  supported 
Clay,  he  would  have  been  elected.  But  they  distrusted  him 
and  nominated  a  candidate  of  their  own.  They  seem  to 
have  preferred  a  slave-owner  who  knew  his  own  mind  to  one 
who  did  not,  and  by  throwing  away  their  votes  on  a  third 
candidate  assured  the  election  of  Polk.  A  joint  resolution 
now  passed  both  Houses  of  Congress,  providing  for  the  re- 
annexation  of  Texas,  and  extending  the  line  of  the  Missouri 
Compromise  through  the  new  territory  to  be  acquired.  Three 
days  before  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  office,  Tyler  signed 
this  law,  and  at  once  took  the  necessary  steps  to  carry  the  plan 
into  execution.  It  was  not  until  the  middle  of  April,  however, 
that  the  final  arrangements  were  made,  and  Polk  was  then 
President. 

A  question  immediately  arose  as  to  the  true  western 
boundary  of  Texas.  Was  Texas  to  be  confined 
vs^rf  1846-48^"  within  the  area  assigned  to  her  as  one  of  the 
States  of  the  Mexican  Republic,  or  was  her  true 
western  limit  the  Rio  Grande,  the  limit  of  the  old  French  and 
Spanish  district  denominated  Texas?  The  State  of  Texas  and 
the  United  States  contended  that  the  Rio  Grande  was  the  true 
frontier,  and  this,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  was  the  limit  of  Texas 
when  sold  by  Spain  in  1800,  and  by  France  three  years  later. 
President  Polk  ordered  General  Zachary  Taylor,  commander  of 
the  United  States  army  in  the  South-west,  to  advance  to  the 
Rio  Grande,  adding  that  if  the  Mexicans  should  attack  him 
there,  he  should  at  once  cross  the  river  into  Mexico.  Taylor 
advanced,  the  Mexicans  ordered  him  to  return,  and  these 


VIII.]  The  Mexican  War,  1846-48.  231 

orders  not  being  complied  with  they  attacked  and,  after  some 
blood  had  been  shed,  captured  a  small  detachment  of  the 
American  army  (April  23rd,  1846).  This  enabled  the  Presi- 
dent to  assert  that  "War  existed  by  the  act  of  Mexico,"  and 
Congress  accepted  the  issue  thus  raised.  The  Mexican  War 
which  followed  was  in  reality  an  attack  on  a  weak  nation  by  a 
strong  one.  The  American  armies  in  the  field,  however,  were 
nearly  always  greatly  outnumbered  by  their  opponents,  who 
also  enjoyed  all  the  advantages  of  fighting  on  the  defensive. 
The  American  soldiers,  consequently,  won  renown  by  the 
splendid  fighting  qualities  they  displayed,  and  the  chief  com- 
manders acquired  great  military  reputations.  There  were  two 
lines  of  operations,  one  being  a  continuation  of  Taylor's  for- 
ward movement.  With  this  campaign  are  associated  the  names 
of  the  victories  of  Palo  Alto,  Resaca  de  las  Palmas,  and  Buena 
Vista  (February,  1847).  These  victories  made  General  Taylor 
a  successful  candidate  for  the  Presidency;  they  did  not  con- 
vince the  Mexicans,  however,  that  the  claim  of  the  United 
States  to  their  Northern  provinces  must  be  allowed.  That 
conviction  could  only  be  forced  upon  them  by  the  capture  of 
their  capital,  the  City  of  Mexico.  This  task  was  intrusted  to 
General  Winfield  Scott  —  the  senior  officer  of  the  army,  and 
one  of  the  few  men  who  had  won  an  enduring  reputation  in 
the  War  of  181 2.  Landing  on  the  Mexican  coast  (March, 
1847),  near  Vera  Cruz,  he  captured  that*^eaport  and  then 
began  a  long  march  to  the  interior,  following,  in  general,  in  the 
footsteps  of  the  Spanish  Conquistadores  of  the  early  part  of  the 
sixteenth  century.  He  swept  aside  a  Mexican  force  which 
tried  to  check  his  advance  at  Cerro  Cordo,  and  passing  by  the 
mighty  peaks  of  Orizaba  and  Popocatapetl,  entered  the  valley 
of  Mexico.  The  splendid  victories  of  Contreras,  Churubusco, 
Molino  del  Rey,  and  Chapultepec  (September,  1847)  placed 
the  City  of  Mexico  within  his  power.  On  February  2nd,  1848, 
a  treaty  was  signed  at  Guadalupe  Hidalgo,  which,  with  unim- 


232 


Democracy. 


[Chap. 


portant  changes,  was  ratified  by  the  Senate  of  the  United  States 
and  by  Mexico.  By  this  treaty,  the  United  States  acquired  a 
clear  title  to  Texas  as  far  as  the  Rio  Grande,  to  New  Mexico, 
and  to  California  —  which  had  been  seized  by  American  mili- 
tary and  naval  forces.  For  these  great  acquisitions  the  United 
States  gave  Mexico  (i)  peace,  (2)  fifteen  million  dollars,  and 
(3)  a  promise  to  pay  some  three  million  dollars  more  to 
American  citizens  who  held  claims  on  the  Mexican  govern- 
ment. Later,  in  1853,  the  United  States  purchased  from 
Mexico  a  strip  of  land  between  the  Rio  Grande  and  the 
Colorado  River.  These  acquisitions,  including  Texas,  added 
about  eight  hundred  and  seventy-five  thousand  square  miles 
of  land  to  the  area  of  the  United  States.  During  Polk's  ad- 
ministration, also,  the  frontier  of  the  United  States  in  the 
North-west  was  settled  substantially  as  it  exists  to-day. 

The  region  west  of  the  crest  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  and 

north  of  the  forty-second  parallel  was  called 
Treaty?i846.'^      Oregon.    The  northern  limit  of  this  region  was 

vague  and  its  ownership  unsettled.  The  title 
of  the  United  States  to  Oregon  was  shrouded  in  such  obscurity 
as  only  diplomatists  care  to  penetrate.  It  was  composed  of 
many  elements:  (i)  the  discovery  of  the  Columbia  River  by 
an  American  citizen,  (2)  the  assignment  of  whatever  rights 
Spain  still  had  by  the  Florida  Treaty  of  18 19,  (3)  contiguity  to 
Louisiana,  (4)  exploration  and  occupation  resulting  from  the 
ownership  of  Louisiana.  It  was  not  contended  that  any  one 
of  these  elements  constituted  a  valid  title,  but  it  was  argued 
that  taken  together  they  formed  a  better  title  than  could  be 
advanced  by  any  other  nation.  The  only  other  power  which 
pushed  its  claims  to  this  region  was  Great  Britain.  The 
governments  of  these  two  countries  could  not  agree  as  to 
partition,  and  they  determined  to  occupy  the  region  in  common 
as  long  as  the  joint  occupation  seemed  to  be  advantageous  to 
both  nations.    This  condition  of  affairs  continued  from  18 18 


VIII.]  The  Oregon  Treaty,  1846.  233 


to  1845.  During  the  earlier  years  of  this  period,  the  British 
fur- trading  companies  preponderated  in  Oregon.  Later  on, 
American  colonists,  with  their  families,  had  passed  the  moun- 
tains and  settled  in  the  fertile  river  valleys.  As  in  the  original 
settlement  of  the  country,  the  English  settlers  had  driven  out 
the  French  trappers,  so  in  Oregon  the  American  emigrant 
farmers  drove  away  the  Canadian  and  English  fur-traders.  The 
boundary  between  Canada  and  the  United  States  from  the 
Lake  of  the  Woods  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  was  the  forty- 
ninth  parallel.  The  United  States,  for  some  years,  had  been 
willing  to  extend  that  line  to  the  Pacific,  thus  yielding  to  Great 
Britain  the  territory  between  forty-nine  and  fifty-four  degrees 
and  forty  minutes  of  north  latitude  —  the  latter  line  being 
the  recognized  southern  boundary  of  the  Russian  province 
of  Alaska.  The  adoption  of  the  forty-ninth  parallel  as  the 
boundary  between  American  and  British  territory,  besides 
giving  to  the  United  States  the  mouth  and  the  greater  part  of 
the  basin  of  the  Columbia  River,  would  also  give  it  the 
southern  end  of  Vancouver's  Island,  and  the  control  of  the 
southern  channel  connecting  the  sounds  between  that  island 
and  the  continent  with  the  ocean.  To  this  Great  Britain 
would  not  consent,  and  the  Americans  reverted  to  their 
more  extensive  claims.  In  1845,  the  war  spirit  ran  high  in 
the  United  States.  "All  Oregon,  or  none,"  and  "Fifty-four 
forty  or  fight "  became  the  cry.  For  a  while  it  seemed  as  if 
the  United  States  would  be  obliged  to  wage  war  with  Great 
Britain  and  Mexico  at  the  same  time.  Joint  occupation  of 
Oregon  was  terminated  by  the  act  of  the  United  States.  More 
peaceful  counsels  prevailed,  however,  and  it  was  arranged  by 
treaty,  in  1846,  that  the  boundary  between  the  United  States 
and  Canada  should  be  the  forty-ninth  parallel,  as  far  as  the 
channel  separating  Vancouver's  Island  from  the  mainland,  and 
should  then  follow  the  middle  of  that  channel  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean.    There  was  some  dispute  as  to  which  channel  was  the 


234 


Democracy, 


[Chap.  viii. 


one  meant  by  the  negotiators  of  the  treaty  of  1846,  but  this 
contention  was  arranged  by  arbitration  in  187 1  — the  German 
Emperor  acting  as  arbitrator  and  deciding  in  favour  of  the 
United  States.  The  more  difficult  question  as  to  the  division 
of  these  great  acquisitions  between  slavery  and  freedom  re- 
mained to  be  settled. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


THE   EXTENSION  OF  SLAVERY,   1 849-6 1. 

The  Missouri  compromises  settled  the  question  of  slavery 
extension  for  many  years,  and  at  the  same  time  ^^^^ 
made  the  division  between  the  slave  and  free  slavery  agita- 
sections  more  permanent.  But  the  issue  in-  *^°"* 
volved  in  that  contest  had  hardly  been  set  at  rest  when  other 
questions  turning  on  slavery  arose.  The  people  of  the 
North,  for  the  most  part,  were  busily  employed  in  acquiring 
wealth.  The  northern  merchants  and  manufacturers  agreed 
with  the  southern  slave-owners  in  a  desire  to  leave  the  whole 
subject  of  slavery  undiscussed  and  undisturbed.  There  are  to 
be  found,  however,  from  time  to  time,  in  all  parts  of  the  world, 
earnest  souls  whose  consciences  will  not  permit  them  to  blink 
at  what  seems  to  be  wrong,  no  matter  how  their  material 
interests  may  be  affected  by  their  actions.  Such  an  one  was 
William  Lloyd  Garrison.  In  1831,  while  nullification  was 
threatening  to  disturb  the  peace  of  the  country,  he  began  at 
Boston  the  publication  of  a  paper  devoted  to  the  abolition 
of  negro  slavery  and  called  "The  Liberator."  The  South 
Carolina  politician  was  satisfied  with  nullification  —  as  a  first 
step  at  least;  the  Massachusetts  agitator  clamoured  for  no 
union  with  slave-owners,  and  denounced  the  Constitution  as 
"an  agreement  with  Hell."    In  the  same  year  that  Garrison 


236 


The  Extension  of  Slavery. 


[Chap. 


began  the  publication  of  "The  Liberator,"  a  slave  insurrection 
broke  out  in  Virginia  under  the  leadership  of  Nat  Turner. 
There  was  no  connection  between  the  two  events,  but  the 
Southerners  became  wild  with  excitement.  The  legislature 
of  Georgia  offered  a  reward  of  five  thousand  dollars  for 
Garrison's  arrest  and  conviction,  and  not  a  copy  of  "The 
Liberator"  could  be  openly  sold  south  of  the  Potomac.  In- 
citement to  murder  in  the  South  had  its  counterpart  in  mob 
violence  in  the  North.  Garrison  was  locked  up  in  the  Boston 
jail  to  protect  him  from  the  rioters,  and  William  Ellery  Chan- 
ning,  publishing  a  tract  against  slavery,  was  deserted  by  the 
greater  part  of  his  congregation.  The  matter  soon  became 
an  affair  of  national  importance  owing  to  the  lack  of  wisdom 
displayed  by  the  Southern  leaders  in  trying  to  prevent  the 
presentation  of  anti-slavery  petitions  to  Congress.  John 
Quincy  Adams,  the  ex-President,  was  now  a  member  of  the 
House  of  Representatives.  He  led  the  battle  for  freedom  on 
this  issue  of  the  right  of  petition,  and  gained  for  himself  a 
place  in  the  history  of  the  United  States  as  honourable  as  it 
is  unique.  The  murder  of  an  abolitionist  newspaper  editor, 
named  Love  joy,  brought  to  public  notice  one  of  the  most 
splendid  orators  of  all  time,  Wendell  Phillips.  At  a  meet- 
ing held  in  Faneuil  Hall,  Boston,  he  rebuked  "the  recreant 
American,"  who  in  the  interest  of  the  slave-holders  had 
"slandered  the  dead."  The  abolition  movement  seemed  to 
be  losing  strength,  however,  when  the  acquisition  of  Texas, 
New  Mexico,  California,  and  Oregon  brought  the  nation  once 
again  face  to  face  with  the  problem  of  the  extension  of  slavery. 
Once  again,  under  the  lead  of  Henry  Clay,  the  nation  flinched 
and  strove  to  avoid  the  issue  by  compromise. 

Oregon  was  situated  so  far  north  that  all  parties  seem  to 
have  agreed  to  extend  to  that  territory  the  prin- 
Settiement       ciples  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787  as  to  slavery. 

of  California.  ^  i    i  j 

With  regard  to  California,  the  case  was  different. 


IX.]       The  Settlement  of  California^  1848-49.  237 


That  territory  extended  far  to  the  south  of  the  line  of  the  Mis- 
souri Compromise.  Before  the  Treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo 
had  been  concluded,  a  workman  on  Colonel  Suter's  mill-race, 
near  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Sacramento,  noticed  a  few 
bits  of  gold  in  the  earth  taken  from  the  trench.  Slight  explora- 
tion confirmed  the  discovery,  and  a  small  package  containing 
the  precious  metal  was  sent  to  Washington  and  there  placed  on 
exhibition.  Then  followed  a  movement  such  as  the  world  had 
never  witnessed  before  in  historic  times.  Over  land  and  over 
water,  the  gold-seekers  thronged  to  California.  A  majority 
of  these  early  pioneers,  "  the  forty-niners,"  were  Northern  men 
and  themselves  laboured  for  the  gold.  Between  February,  1848, 
and  November,  1849,  i^ore  than  eighty  thousand  emigrants 
entered  the  country.  In  the  latter  month  they  held  a  con- 
vention, drew  up  a  State  constitution  prohibiting  slavery,  and 
applied  to  Congress  for  admission  to  the  Union  as  a  free  State. 
Congress  thus  was  forced  to  come  to  some  decision  as  to  the 
disposal  of  the  territory  acquired  from  Mexico. 

General  Taylor  was  now  (1849-50)  President,  having  been 
elected  by  the  Whig  party  in  November,  1848.  The'*wii 
He  was  a  Louisiana  sugar  planter  and  the  owner  mot  Proviso," 
of  a  hundred  slaves,  and  was  the  father-in-law 
of  Jefferson  Davis,  one  of  the  Senators  from  Mississippi. 
President  Taylor,  at  the  time  of  his  inauguration,  seems  to 
have  believed  the  Northern  anti-slavery  men  to  have  been 
the  aggressors.  He  soon  discovered  that  the  aggression  was 
on  the  other  side.  Moreover,  he  fell  under  the  influence  of 
William  H.  Seward  of  New  York,  one  of  the  anti-slavery 
leaders  in  the  Senate.  Taylor  determined  to  hurry  California 
and  New  Mexico  into  the  Union  as  free  or  slave  States,  as  the 
people  of  each  region  might  determine.  When  Congress 
met,  however.  Clay  worked  out  a  plan  for  a  compromise 
which  would  settle  all  the  pending  questions  which  in  any 
way  involved  slavery,  in  the  interests  of  conciliation  and  good 


238 


The  Extension  of  Slavery, 


[Chap. 


feeling.  The  precise  motives  which  actuated  Clay  at  this 
time  have  been  much  debated.  Some  writers  have  asserted 
that  a  jealousy  of  Taylor,  his  successful  rival,  was  the  leading 
motive,  and  others  have  suggested  that  he  really  believed  that 
secession  on  the  part  of  the  slave  States  was  imminent.  The 
accuracy  of  the  insight  of  those  who  believed  that  the  Union 
was  really  in  danger  in  1850  has  however  been  impugned. 
No  matter  what  was  the  cause  of  Clay's  action,  it  is  certain 
that  the  discussions  which  it  aroused  greatly  increased  what- 
ever bitterness  of  feeling  there  may  have  been.  This  contest 
had  been  somewhat  forestalled  by  the  attempt  of  the  anti- 
slavery  men  to  devote  these  new  territories  to  freedom  before 
they  were  acquired.  This  they  endeavoured  to  accomplish 
(1846)  by  attaching  to  the  bill  appropriating  money  to  enable 
the  President  to  buy  land  from  Mexico,  a  proviso  that  slavery 
should  be  forbidden  for  ever  in  any  territory  acquired  from 
Mexico.  This  was  known  as  the  Wilmot  Proviso  because  it 
was  introduced  by  David  Wilmot  of  Pennsylvania.  The  bill 
was  defeated  at  the  moment  owing,  curiously  enough,  to  the 
fact  that  the  clocks  of  the  two  Houses  did  not  agree,  so  that 
the  Senate  did  not  take  action  until  after  the  House  had 
finally  adjourned;  the  bill  thus  failed  to  pass  at  that  session. 
The  appropriation  was  made  a  short  time  afterwards,  without 
the  proviso.  The  extremists  in  the  North  were  determined 
that  sooner  or  later  the  policy  embodied  in  the  Wilmot  Proviso 
should  become  the  law  of  the  land.  The  Southern  extremists 
were  determined  to  break  up  the  Union,  if  it  were  passed 
into  law.  General  Taylor,  with  rare  insight,  recognized  that 
the  easiest  way  would  be  that  the  people  of  the  proposed 
States  should  settle  the  matter  before  the  politicians  could 
meddle  with  it.  Clay,  however,  took  possession  of  the  subject 
and  proceeded  to  dispose  of  the  whole  matter  in  his  own 
way. 

Clay's  compromise  scheme  included   the  simultaneous 


IX.] 


The  Compromise  of  1850. 


239 


settlement  of  eight  questions  in  the  following  manner :  (i)  Cali- 
fornia to  be  admitted  as  a  free  State;  (2)  New  ciay'sCom- 
Mexico  and  Utah  to  be  organized  as  territories,  promise 
without  any  reference  being  made  as  to  slavery;  Scheme. 
(3)  and  (4)  the  claims  of  Texas  to  portions  of  New  Mexico  to 
be  extinguished  by  a  money  payment  by  the  United  States 
to  Texas;  (5)  slavery  not  to  be  abolished  in  the  District  of 
Columbia;  (6)  the  slave-trade  to  be  prohibited  within  that 
district;  (7)  an  affirmation  to  the  effect  that  Congress  has  no 
power  over  the  inter-state  slave-trade;  and  (8)  the  passage  of  a 
workable  fugitive  slave  law.  In  the  course  of  the  debates  to 
which  these  resolutions  gave  rise,  four  speeches  were  made 
which  well  show  the  different  phases  of  public  opinion  at  the 
rhoment.  The  first  was  delivered  by  Clay,  compromise  in- 
carnate," as  he  has  been  well  termed  by  a  modern  writer.  He 
was  now  an  old  man  and  a  thrice  disappointed  candidate  for 
the  presidency.  He  was  one  of  those  slave-owners,  of  whom 
Senator  Benton  of  Missouri  was  the  best  example,  who  preferred 
their  country  to  their  slaves.  Of  Clay's  patriotism  and  sin- 
cerity there  is  not  the  slightest  doubt,  though  the  expediency  of 
some  of  his  actions  may  be  open  to  question.  He  now  could 
see  no  safety  for  the  country  except  in  "a  union  of  hearts"  to 
be  brought  about  by  mutual  concessions.  The  issue,  he  ar- 
gued, was  one  of  sentiment  on  the  part  of  the  Northerners —  of 
interest  on  the  part  of  the  Southerners.  Sentiment  he  thought 
could  be  more  easily  overcome  than  interest,  and,  therefore,  the 
Northerners,  in  the  general  bargain,  must  concede  more  than 
their  opponents.  This  was  the  view  of  a  Southern  moderate. 
John  C.  Calhoun  represented  the  Southern  extremists.  He  was 
now  at  death's  door,  and  died  in  fact  within  a  few  weeks  of  his 
speech.  He  was  too  weak  to  read  aloud  what  he  had  written, 
and  it  was  read  to  the  Senate  by  another  Southern  Senator. 
Calhoun  put  forward  no  plan.  The  Union  was  doomed  unless 
the  South  should  have  equal  rights  in  the  newly  acquired 


240  The  Extension  of  Slavery.  [Chap. 

districts.  He  had  no  desire  for  local  option,  and  regarded 
the  action  of  the  Californians  as  a  piece  of  gross  impertinence 
—  the  admission  of  that  State  would  be  equivalent  to  a  notice 
that  the  North  meant  to  overwhelm  the  South.  He  also 
demanded  the  passage  of  a  fugitive  slave  law  which  would 
give  the  slave-owners  power  to  exercise  their  constitutional 
right  to  reclaim  their  runaway  slaves.  Moreover,  he  thought 
that  the  North  must  put  an  end  to  all  agitation  looking  toward 
abolition,  and  advised  the  passage  of  an  Amendment  to  the 
Constitution  embodying  some  machinery  by  which  the  South 
should  for  ever  enjoy  equal  power  with  the  North,  no  matter 
what  the  population  and  resources  of  the  two  sections  might 
be.  The  third  speech  was  made  by  Daniel  Webster,  of  Massa- 
chusetts, on  the  7th  of  March,  1850.  It  is  always  referred  to 
as  the  "Seventh  of  March  Speech,"  and  created  a  most  painful 
and  profound  sensation  in  the  North.  Webster  declared  for 
the  compromise.  He  argued  that  slavery  was  "  excluded  by 
nature  "  from  California  and  New  Mexico.  Why,  then,  put  in 
a  "  Wilmot  Proviso"  as  a  taunt  and  reproach?  These  speeches 
were  the  work  of  men  who  were  at  the  close  of  their  careers. 
The  fourth  speeclf  was  made  by  one  of  the  foremost  of  the 
younger  men,  William  H.  Seward.  In  1848  he  had  stated 
in  a  public  address,  that  "  slavery  can  be  limited  to  its  present 
bounds;  it  can  be  ameliorated;  it  can  and  must  be  abolished, 
and  you  and  I  can  and  must  do  it."  He  now  swept  aside 
historical  subtleties  and  constitutional  precedents  and  declared 
"  there  is  a  higher  law  than  the  Constitution  which  regulates 
our  authority  over  the  domain  and  devotes  it  to  the  same 
noble  purposes  [^to  union,  to  justice,  to  defence,  to  welfare, 
and  to  liberty  ']."  This  appeal  to  "  the  higher  law  "  marks  the 
beginning  of  the  end  of  the  period  of  compromise. 

Meantime,  Taylor  had  been  managing  the  business  in  his 
own  direct  soldierly  fashion,  when,  suddenly,  in  July,  1850, 
he  died,  and  Millard  Fillmore,  the  Vice-President  and  Seward's 


IX.] 


The  Compromise  of  1850. 


241 


rival  in  New  York,  became  President.    At  once  there  was 
a  complete  change  in  the  political  horizon.  xheCom- 
Seward,  who  had  been  very  strong  owing  to    promise  of 
his  influence  with  Taylor,  lost  all  power  in  the 
administration.    Webster  became  Secretary  of  State,  and  the 
compromise  measures  were  passed,  although  not  in  the  original 
form.    California  was  admitted  on  her  own  terms;  Texas 
received  the  promised  price  for  her  land ;  New  Mexico  and 
Utah  were  organized  as  territories,  without  any  restriction  as 
to  slavery;  the  slave-trade  was  abolished  within  the  precincts 
of  the  national  capital;  and  a  fugitive  slave  law  was  passed 
stringent  enough  to  satisfy  the  Southern  slave-holder. 

This  last  law  was  so  severe,  indeed,  that  it  defeated  its  own 
objects.    Among  other  things,  the  right  to  a  jury      ^^^^  p^g._ 
trial  to  determine  the  question  of  ownership  was    tive  slave 
denied,  and  the  act  was  ex  post  facto  in  its  opera-  ^^^°* 
tion.    The  authors  of  the  bill  forgot,  however,  that  while  a  jury 
trial  was  denied  to  the  reclaimed  slave,  it  was  not  and  could 
not  be  denied  to  the  rescuer  of  the  negro  from  the  hands  of 
the  fugitive  slave  hunter.    Seward  had  stated  in  a  speech,  on 
this  branch  of  the  compromise,  that  a  very  mild  fugitive  slave 
law  would  be  more  efficacious  than  a  severe  one ;  but  he  had 
not  been  heeded. 

The  slave-owners'  agents  now  poured  over  Mason  and 
Dixon's  line  to  recover  the  property  of  their  The  attempts 
employers.  It  was  found  to  be  practically  im-  to  enforce  the 
possible  to  secure  and  retain  possession  of  the 
coveted  fugitives.  These  prosecutions  attracted  more  attention 
to  the  slavery  question  in  a  few  months  than  the  Abolitionists 
had  been  able  to  arouse  in  twenty  years.  The  most  respected 
and  respectable  men  bore  prominent  parts  in  the  rescue  of  the 
reclaimed  fugitives.  On  the  other  hand,  the  United  States 
Deputy  Marshals  were  often  drawn  from  the  lowest  strata  of 
society.  Mr  Charles  Sumner,  of  Massachusetts,  expressed  the 
C.  A.  16 


242  The  Extension  of  Slavery,  [Chap. 


popular  feeling  in  a  speech  delivered  in  Faneuil  Hall.  The 
"public  conscience,"  he  affirmed,  "will  not  allow  a  man  who 
has  trodden  our  streets  as  a  free  man  to  be  dragged  away  as  a 
slave."  Sumner  was  soon  afterwards  elected  to  the  United 
States  Senate,  where  he  and  Hamilton  Fish  of  New  York,  and 
B.  F.  Wade  of  Ohio  formed  with  Seward  and  Chase  a  small 
but  strong  party,  representing  "the  higher  law,"  which  rules 
the  "public  conscience."  These  same  years  (1850-52)  that 
witnessed  this  uprising  of  the  "public  conscience"  in  the 
North  witnessed  the  death  of  Calhoun,  Clay,  and  Webster,  and 
the  return  of  Jefferson  Davis  to  political  life.  It  was  then  also 
that  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin"  was  published.  This  latter  may 
well  be  regarded  as  a  political  event  of  the  utmost  importance, 
although  its  import  was  not  discerned  at  the  time.  No  other 
American  book,  perhaps  no  other  work  of  fiction,  has  ever 
had  the  same  degree  of  success  as  Mrs.  Stowe's  "Uncle  Tom." 
Three  hundred  thousand  copies  were  sold  within  a  year.  The 
story  was  dramatized  and  placed  on  the  stage,  where  it  had 
an  unprecedented  success.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  the  de- 
scription of  slavery  is  overdrawn  in  the  sense  that  all  the 
hardships  and  outrages  therein  set  forth  were  seldom  if  ever 
felt  by  any  one  particular  slave;  the  description  of  "Southern 
Society  "  also  is  defective.  The  most  curious  thing  in  the 
story  of  the  book  is  the  fact  that  it  was  extremely  popular 
in  the  South.  Whatever  its  merits  or  demerits,  its  ultimate 
influence  was  tremendous.  The  Northern  boys  who  read 
"Uncle  Tom's  Cabin"  in  1852-58  were  the  voters  of  i860 
and  the  soldiers  of  1861-65. 

The  signing  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Act  has  blackened  the 

memory  of  Millard  Fillmore  in  later  days,  but  at 
of'^sslj^^^^*'^'*     the  time  it  aroused  little  comment.    He  was  the 

strongest  candidate  for  the  nomination  of  the 
Whig  party,  and  would  have  secured  it,  had  not  Webster's 
friends  refused  to  co-operate  with  his.    As  it  turned  out, 


IX.]  Mrs.  Stowes  Uncle  Toms  Cabin.  243 


General  Scott  was  nominated,  but  he  was  defeated  at  the  polls 
by  Franklin  Pierce  of  Vermont,  the  Democratic  candidate. 
The  latter  received  two  hundred  and  fifty-four  electoral  votes 
against  forty-two  given  to  Scott.  The  result  was  unexpected, 
but  is  easily  to  be  explained.  Scott  was  a  man  of  pretentious 
habits  and  was  exceedingly  fond  of  display.  Ridicule  always 
exerts  great  influence  in  politics,  and  the  Democrats  heaped 
ridicule  on  the  old  soldier.  The  real  reason  for  his  defeat, 
however,  was  a  desire  on  the  part  of  the  people  for  rest  from 
political  strife,  and  a  conviction  that  the  Democrats  were  less 
likely  to  disturb  the  Compromise  of  1850  than  were  the  Whigs. 
In  this  the  voters  reckoned  without  the  politician  and  were 
soon  undeceived. 

The  foremost  Democratic  Senator  from  the  North  was 
Stephen  Arnold  Douglas  of  Illinois.  In  January,  Kansas- 
1854,  he  introduced  the  measure  which  was  Nebraska  bui, 
known  in  its  later  stages  as  the  Kansas-Nebraska 
Bill.  The  precise  motives  which  led  Mr  Douglas  to  take  this 
step  have  been  the  subject  of  much  controversy.  Some  students 
think  that  a  desire  to  conciliate  Southern  support  in  aid  of  his 
pretensions  to  the  presidency  was  the  leading  motive;  but  this 
has  been  alleged  against  almost  every  prominent  politician 
who  has  done  anything  out  of  the  common  run.  Other 
writers  think  that  some  concession  was  necessary  in  1854 
in  order  to  avert  secession,  and  that  Douglas,  realizing  this, 
hastened  to  meet  the  slave-owners  more  than  half-way.  The 
proposed  plan  provided  for  the  organization  of  all  of  the 
Louisiana  Purchase  north  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  line 
(36°  30%  and  west  of  the  States  of  Missouri  and  Iowa,  into  a 
territory  under  the  name  of  Nebraska.  It  was  designed  that 
this  territory  should  be  admitted  into  the  Union  at  some  future 
time  either  as  one  State,  or  as  several  States  —  "with  or  without 
slavery  as  their  constitution  may  prescribe  at  the  time."  This 
proposed  territory  lay  north  of  the  line  of  the  Missouri  Com- 

16 — 2 


244 


The  Extension  of  Slavery. 


[Chap. 


promise  which  had  "for  ever  forbidden"  slavery  north  of  the 
southern  boundary  of  Missouri  and  west  of  that  State.  Mr 
Douglas  maintained,  however,  that  the  Missouri  Compromise 
had  practically  been  repealed  in  1850,  and  that  his  bill  merely 
proposed  to  extend  the  principle  of  local  option  or  "squatter 
sovereignty,"  as  it  was  now  termed,  to  the  settlement  of  the 
slavery  question  in  the  territory  acquired  in  1803,  as  it  had 
been  applied  in  1850  to  the  settlement  of  the  dispute  in  the 
territory  acquired  from  Mexico.  The  measure  as  finally  passed 
provided  for  the  establishment  of  two  territories,  Kansas  and 
Nebraska,  instead  of  one  as  had  at  first  been  proposed. 

Public  opinion  was  aroused  as  it  never  had  been  aroused 
^  .  ,  before.    Douglas  was  an  able  debater  and  a 

Debate  on  ^ 

the  Kansas-  skilful  manager.  Chase,  Seward,  Sumner,  and 
Nebraska  Bill.  ^^ 2.^^  Were  brilliant  men,  but  they  had  few 
followers.  The  bill  passed  the  Senate  by  thirty-seven  votes  to 
fourteen.  It  subsequently  passed  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, and  became  law  with  the  consent  of  President  Pierce.  A 
few  sentences  culled  from  the  speeches  made  during  the  debate 
in  the  Senate  will  show  better  than  any  description  the  con- 
dition of  public  opinion  on  the  slavery  question  in  1854. 
Douglas  reproduced  the  argument  contained  in  Webster's 
"Seventh  of  March  Speech,"  "that  slavery  was  excluded  by 
nature,"  and  asserted  that  it  "was  worse  than  folly  to  think  of 
Nebraska  being  a  slave-holding  country."  The  conclusion  was 
that  the  matter  was  of  no  great  moment  after  all.  Seward,  how- 
ever, did  not  agree  with  this,  and  asserted  that "  one  slave-holder 
in  a  new  territory,  with  access  to  the  executive  ear  at  Washington, 
exercised  more  political  influence  than  five  hundred  freemen." 
Sumner,  for  his  part,  seemed  to  welcome  the  issue  and  declared : 
"To  every  man  in  the  land,  it  says  .  .  .  ^Are  you  for  freedom  or 
are  you  for  slavery?'  And  every  man  in  the  land  must  answer 
this  question  when  he  votes."  Some  time  after  the  passage  of 
the  bill,  he  stated  that  "  it  [the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill]  annuls 


IX.] 


The  Kmisas-Nebraska  Bill^  1854. 


24s 


all  past  compromises  with  slavery,  and  makes  all  future  com- 
promises impossible.  Thus  it  puts  freedom  and  slavery  face 
to  face  and  bids  them  grapple.  Who  can  doubt  the  result?  " 
Some  of  the  leading  opponents  of  the  measure  summed  up 
their  objections  to  it  in  an  important»>document  written  by 
Chase  and  Giddings,  an  anti-slavery  member  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  from  Ohio;  Sumner  and  Gerrit  Smith  also 
afforded  some  assistance.  The  paper  is  known  as  the  "  Appeal 
of  the  Independent  Democrats. "  In  it,  the  bill  is  characterized 
as  ^'a  gross  violation  of  a  sacred  pledge;  as  a  criminal  betrayal 
of  precious  rights.  .  .  .  Take  your  maps,  fellow-citizens,  we 
entreat  you,  and  see  what  country  it  is  which  this  bill  gratui- 
tously and  recklessly  proposes  to  open  to  slavery."  As  to  the 
statement,  contained  in  an  amendment  to  the  Kansas-Nebraska 
bill,  that  the  Missouri  Compromise  was  suspended  and  made 
inoperative  by  the  principles  of  the  legislation  of  1850,  a  post- 
script to  the  "Appeal"  declares  this  to  be  "a  manifest 
falsification  of  the  truth  of  history."  There  seems  to  have 
been  some  ground  for  the  statement  that  the  boon  was  in 
the  nature  of  a  gratuitous  gift,  and  it  also  would  seem 
probable  that  a  few  of  the  Southern  leaders  hesitated  to 
accept  it.  Mr  Rhodes,  the  historian  of  this  period,  in  sum- 
ming up  the  whole  matter,  writes  in  effect  that  the  Kansas- 
Nebraska  Act  was  the  most  momentous  measure  that  had 
ever  passed  the  United  States  Congress.  It  doomed  the 
Whig  party  and  made  the  new  Republican  party  a  no-slavery 
party.  By  arousing  the  passions  of  many  influential  persons, 
it  prevented  the  further  execution  of  the  fugitive  slave  law. 
It  made  the  German  immigrants  in  the  West  Republicans. 
It  lost  New  England  to  the  Democrats,  and  made  the  great 
North-west  Republican,  and  finally  it  led  to  the  downfall  of 
the  Democratic  party. 

The  principle  of  "squatter  sovereignty"  or  "popular 
sovereignty"  on  which  Douglas  relied  to  justify  the  bill, 


246 


The  Extension  of  Slavery, 


[Chap. 


was  thus  defined  by  him:  '4he  people  [of  each  state  or 
territory]  shall  be  left  free  to  regulate  their 
Sover°e^gn^y."  domestic  coucems  in  their  own  way,  subject 
only  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States." 
Douglas's  ablest  opponent  in  Illinois  was  Abraham  Lincoln, 
who  had  already  served  one  term  in  Congress  —  entering  the 
House  of  Representatives  in  the  same  session  when  Jefferson 
Davis  first  took  his  seat  as  Senator.  Everything  that  Lincoln 
had  said  during  those  two  years  of  his  Congressional  career 
was  said  from  the  heart  and  was  worthy  the  man  and  his  cause. 
He  was  not  re-elected,  however,  and  likewise  failed  to  secure 
an  office  from  the  administration.  He  then  returned  to  the 
practice  of  the  law  and  achieved  considerable  success.  Now 
re-entering  political  life  with  vigour  and  earnestness,  he  thus 
stated  the  weak  point  of  the  principle  of  squatter  sovereignty  " 
as  it  was  proposed  to  be  applied  in  the  new  territories.  "  I 
admit,"  said  Lincoln,  "that  the  emigrant  to  Kansas  and 
Nebraska  is  competent  to  govern  himself,  but  I  deny  his 
right  to  govern  any  other  person  without  that  person's  con- 
sent." Moreover,  he  affirmed  that  blood  would  be  shed  in 
the  assertion  of  popular  sovereignty  and  asked  "Will  not 
the  first  drop  of  blood  so  shed  be  the  real  knell  of  the 
Union?"  Douglas  confessed  that  Lincoln's  masterly  opposi- 
tion gave  him  more  concern  than  all  the  speeches  made  in  the 
Senate. 

The  voters  expressed  their  views  of  the  Kansas-Nebraska 
policy  in  the  election  of  a  new  House  of  Rep- 
eieai'o^noTis^^^^^  resentatives  in  the  autumn  of  1854.  The 
Democrats  had  a  majority  of  over  eighty  in  the 
Congress  which  passed  the  bill.  In  the  Congress  elected  in 
1854,  they  were  in  a  minority  of  nearly  eighty.  Of  the  forty- 
two  Northern  Democrats  who  had  voted  for  the  bill,  seven 
only  were  re-elected.  The  result  of  this  election  might  have 
been  even  more  decisive  but  for  a  contest  then  raging  in 


IX.] 


The  Strttggle  for  Kansas, 


247 


some  parts  of  the  North,  on  the  question  of  "the  foreign 
element."  The  organization  called  forth  by  this  contest 
was  known  as  the  Know-nothing  party  because  its  members 
when  questioned  by  outsiders  as  to  their  principles  and 
methods,  professed  an  entire  ignorance. 

The  doctrine  of  "squatter  sovereignty"  may  have  been 
right  in  the  abstract.  It  must  be  conceded 
that  the  Kansas-Nebraska  Act,  in  providing  no  foJK^nJTs^^^*^ 
efficient  means  for  ascertaining  the  will  of  the 
"squatter  sovereign,"  was  fatally  incomplete.  This  was  soon 
evident.  The  friends  and  the  enemies  to  slave-extension  at 
once  prepared  to  occupy  Kansas.  The  slave-owners  seem 
to  have  regarded  that  territory  as  rightfully  theirs,  mainly 
because  it  was  next  to  Missouri.  But  many  earnest  persons  in 
the  North  were  determined  that  Kansas  should  be  free  soil. 
They  had  wealth  and  mobility  on  their  side.  An  emigration 
aid  society  was  organized,  and  settlers  were  sent  to  Kansas 
promptly  and  in  considerable  numbers.  The  headquarters 
of  the  free  settlers  was  the  town  of  Lawrence,  named  in  honour 
of  Abbot  Lawrence,  a  wealthy  manufacturer  of  Massachusetts, 
who  contributed  largely  to  the  expenses  of  the  free  colonization. 
The  slave-holders  were  wealthy,  but  in  a  way  not  favourable  to 
rapid  movement.  Their  wealth  consisted  in  lands  and  slaves. 
The  lands  could  be  sold  or  mortgaged,  but  either  was  a  matter 
of  time.  But  given  the  means,  the  migration  of  a  slave-owner 
with  his  slaves  to  an  unknown  region,  whose  climate  might 
prove  fatal  to  the  blacks,  was  an  enterprise  not  to  be  lightly 
begun.  One  of  the  earlier  slave-holders  in  Kansas  was  obliged 
to  cut  the  firewood  with  his  own  hands  to  keep  his  slaves  from 
freezing.  This  and  similar  experiences  must  have  deterred 
many  Southerners  from  emigrating.  At  all  events,  the  majority 
of  the  bona fide  settlers  were  favourable  to  freedom.  To  counter- 
act their  votes,  hundreds  of  Missourians  crossed  the  border 
into  Kansas  to  vote.    The  upshot  of  the  whole  matter  was 


248  The  Extension  of  Slavery.  [Chap. 


that  the  free-state  voters  refused  to  vote.  The  territorial 
legislature  thus  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  pro-slavery  men; 
but  the  fraud  and  intimidation  used  to  bring  about  this  result, 
converted  many  to  the  anti-slavery  side.  The  most  prominent 
of  these  converts  was  Reeder,  the  territorial  Governor  appointed 
by  Pierce.  Indeed,  three  governors,  sent  out  to  Kansas 
as  good  Democrats,  were  speedily  converted  to  free-state 
ideas.  The  free  settlers  held  a  convention  of  their  own,  formed 
a  constitution,  and  applied  to  Congress  for  the  admission  of 
Kansas  to  the  Union  as  a  free  State.  One  of  the  speeches 
made  in  Congress  at  this  time  must  be  described  at  some 
length. 

This  was  Charles  Sumner's  speech,  which  was  afterwards 
printed  under  the  title  of  "The  Crime  against 
SpwS!!^'^'^  Kansas."  The  entire  proceeding  in  the  Kansas 
business  Mr  Sumner  regarded  as  "  a  crime  with- 
out example  in  the  records  of  the  past."  The  speaker  reflected 
in  unmeasured  and  exasperating  language  on  Senator  Butler 
of  South  Carolina,  and  Senator  Douglas,  whom  he  likened  to 
Don  Quixote  and  Sancho  Panza.  Butler  was  further  described 
as  having  chosen  "the  harlot  Slavery"  for  his  Dulcinea  del 
Toboso.  The  whole  speech  showed  to  what  depths  a  scholar 
can  descend  when  thoroughly  aroused.  The  sequel  showed 
some  of  the  effects  produced  by  slavery  on  civilization.  A  few 
days  after  this  speech  was  delivered,  Preston  S.  Brooks,  one  of 
the  Representatives  from  South  Carolina,  entered  the  Senate 
Chamber  where  Sumner  was  sitting  at  his  desk  busy  with  his 
papers.  Standing  over  him  as  he  was  writing,  and  with  scarcely 
a  note  of  warning.  Brooks  struck  him  over  the  head  with  a 
large  walking  stick,  and  with  all  the  skill  and  energy  of  a 
whilom  cavalryman.  The  cane  broke  under  the  blow,  when 
Brooks  seizing  Sumner  struck  him  again  and  again  with  the 
end  which  remained  in  his  hand,  until,  finally,  his  arm  was 
arrested  by  a  spectator.    Sumner  fell  to  the  floor  covered  with 


IX.] 


The  Assault  on  Sumner, 


249 


blood.  The  blows  proved  to  have  reached  the  spinal  column. 
Sumner  never  recovered  his  full  physical  vigour,  but  the  skilful 
treatment  of  Dr  Brown-Sequard  enabled  him  again  to  enter 
public  life  in  1859  —  his  first  speech  in  the  Senate  after  this 
affair  being  on  the  "Barbarism  of  Slavery."  Instead  of  re- 
buking Brooks,  the  Southerners  received  him  as  a  champion, 
and  his  constituents  returned  him  to  Congress  with  only  six- 
dissenting  votes.  The  students  of  the  University  of  Virginia 
voted  him  "a  splendid  cane  .  .  .  with  a  gold  head  "  in  token  of 
their  admiration.  In  the  North,  the  assault  was  regarded  as 
cowardly,  and  Seward  declared  that  "the  blows  that  fell  on 
the  head  of  the  Senator  from  Massachusetts  have  done  more 
for  the  cause  of  human  freedom"  than  all  the  speeches  ever 
made  in  the  national  Congress.  Five  hundred  thousand  copies 
of  the  "Crime  against  Kansas"  were  placed  in  the  hands  of 
the  people.  Curiously  enough,  Sumner  lived  to  see  the  eman- 
cipation of  the  slaves,  while  Butler  and  Brooks  died  within 
three  years  of  the  assault. 

Meantime,  free  emigrants  rushed  to  Kansas  in  large 
numbers.  There  was  much  fighting  between  Lecomp- 
the  two  factions.  Some  of "  these  affairs  were  ton  Conven- 
disgraceful,  such  as  the  massacre  of  the  slave  par- 
tisans  at  Pottawotamie  by  a  band  led  by  John  Brown,  and  the 
destruction  of  Lawrence  by  men  of  the  pro-slavery  faction. 
Ultimately,  the  contest  was  brought  to  a  head  by  the  action 
of  a  constitutional  convention  held  at  Lecompton.  The  dele- 
gates to  this  convention  had  been  elected  under  a  law  passed  by 
the  territorial  legislature,  which  the  free-state  settlers  did  not 
recognize  as  a  legal  body,  and  about  one-third  of  the  votes  cast 
at  the  election  were  fraudulent.  Nevertheless,  the  free-state 
people  were  induced  to  remain  quiet  by  the  promise  that  the 
constitution  proposed  by  this  convention  should  be  submitted 
to  the  people  of  the  territory  for  ratification.  The  question 
finally  submitted  to  the  voters,  however,  was  not  whether 


2SO 


The  Extension  of  Slavery. 


[Chap. 


Kansas  should  be  a  free  State  or  a  slave  State,  but  whether 
it  should  be  a  State  with  unlimited  slavery  or  with  limited 
slavery.  This  trickery  proved  to  be  more  than  Douglas  and 
many  other  Northern  Democrats  could  bear.  He  broke  with 
the  administration,  which,  in  its  turn,  attacked  him  with  every 
means  in  its  power.  Douglas  gained  popularity  in  the  North, 
where  it  was  asserted  that  his  doctrine  of  "  squatter  sovereignty" 
was  right,  since  it  had  gained,  or  at  all  events,  would  gain 
Kansas  to  the  cause  of  freedom.  A  general  election  was  now 
near  at  hand,  and  efforts  were  made  to  effect  a  compromise 
of  some  kind.  This  took  the  form  of  an  attempt  to  induce  the 
people  of  Kansas  to  consent  to  the  admission  of  Kansas  as 
a  slave  State,  in  consideration  of  large  additional  grants  of 
valuable  land.  A  fair  election  was  then  held,  and  Kansas 
refused  to  enter  the  Union  on  these  terms,  by  a  vote  of 
nearly  eleven  thousand  to  over  two  thousand  votes. 

In  1858,  there  occurred  in  Illinois  one  of  the  most  fiercely 

contested  political  campaigns  in  the  history  of 
D^^gial!"  United  States,  and  one  of  the  most  important, 

in  that  it  made  Lincoln  a  prominent  candidate 
for  the  presidency.  Douglas's  term  of  ofifice  as  Senator  from 
Illinois  would  expire  in  1859.  Lincoln  determined  to  contest 
the  seat  in  the  interest  of  the  new  Republican  party.  In  his 
first  address,  he  thus  defined  the  issue,  in  language  which 
startled  the  country:  ^^^A  house  divided  against  itself  cannot 
stand,'  ...  I  believe  this  government  cannot  endure  perma- 
nently half  slave  and  half  free.  ...  It  [the  Union]  will  be- 
come all  one  thing  or  all  the  other."  He  challenged  Douglas 
to  meet  him  in  a  series  of  joint  debates,  and  Douglas  con- 
sented. Seven  debates  were  arranged  for  and  held.  No 
halls  could  be  found  large  enough  to  hold  the  crowds  who 
came  to  witness  these  battles  of  the  giants.  In  the  end, 
Douglas  was  returned  to  the  Senate;  but  Lincoln  had  won  a 
national  reputation.    The  "  house-divided-against-itself  "  doc- 


IX.]  The  Dred  Scott  Decision^  i8S7-  251 


trine,  first  enunciated  by  Lincoln,  was  reiterated  by  Seward  in 
a  speech  which  probably  had  more  influence  in  forming  Northern 
opinion  than  any  other  one  speech  made  before  the  war. 
Seward  said  that  between  slavery  and  freedom  "there  is  an 
irrepressible  conflict  .  .  .  the  United  States  must  and  will, 
sooner  or  later,  become  either  entirely  a  slave-holding  nation 
or  entirely  a  free-labour  nation." 

The  only  political  organization  which  now  united  the  two 
sections  —  the  free  North  and  the  slave-holding 
South  —  was  the  Democratic  party,  and  in  1859  scott^case^ 
the  breach  between  the  two  wings  of  that  party 
became  irreparable.  To  comprehend  the  demands  then 
made  by  the  Slave-power,  it  will  be  necessary  to  go  back 
to  1857,  and  glance  at  the  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court 
in  the  Dred  Scott  case.  Into  the  circumstances  of  this 
case  we  need  not  enter.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  Dred 
Scott  was,  or,  at  all  events,  had  been,  a  slave.  The  Supreme 
Court  was  then  presided  over  by  Chief  Justice  Taney,  who,  as 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  had  removed  the  deposits  in  Jackson's 
time.  The  decision  was  in  effect  (i)  that  a  slave  or  the  de- 
scendants of  a  slave  had  no  standing  in  a  United  States  Court; 
(2)  that  the  Missouri  Compromise,  restricting  the  rights  of  the 
slave-owners  in  the  national  domain,  was  unconstitutional  and 
hence  null  and  void;  and  (3)  that  slave-owners  could  carry 
their  slaves,  as  property,  into  any  territory.  Thus  were  the 
people  of  the  North  told  by  the  highest  interpreter  of  the  Con- 
stitution that  under  that  instrument  nothing  could  be  done  for 
the  slaves,  and  nothing  could  be  done  to  prevent  the  occu- 
pation of  the  public  domain  by  slave-holders. 

In  1859,  the  Slave-power  demanded  the  execution  of  the 
Constitution  as  interpreted  by  the  Supreme  Court.  slave- 
Senator  Brown  of  Mississippi  asserted  that  the    holders'  de- 
slave-holders  "  have  a  right  of  protection  for  their  ^^59 
slave  property  in  the  territories."    Jefferson  Davis,  the  other 


252  The  Extension  of  Slavery.  [Chap. 

Senator  from  Mississippi,  went  one  step  farther,  claiming  that 
slave  property  deserved  a  greater  measure  of  protection  than 
ordinary  property,  as  it  was  subject  to  greater  risks.  "  Adequate 
protection  "  must  be  given.  That  a  very  large  measure  of  pro- 
tection would  be  required  to  secure  the  prolonged  existence  of 
slavery  was  soon  made  evident  by  the  intense  excitement 
aroused  by  the  publication  and  extended  sale  of  Helper's  The 
Impending  Crisis  of  the  South :  How  to  meet  it,  and  by  the 
execution  of  John  Brown. 

Helper  was  a  "  poor  white  "  of  North  Carolina.    His  book 

was  an  arraignment  of  slavery  from  the  point  of 
p^dFngcJi^is      ^^^^       ^  Southern  free  white  labourer,  and 

non-slave-holder.  Among  other  things.  Helper 
"  longed  to  see  the  day  when  the  negroes  shall  be  removed 
from  the  United  States,  and  their  places  filled  by  white  men." 
If  slavery  should  be  abolished  Helper  thought  that  manufac- 
turing might  become  an  industry  in  the  South.  Then  the  small 
farmer  would  find  a  market  for  his  produce  in  the  thriving  cities 
and  towns,  which  would  grow  up^  about  the  mills  as  they  had 
grown  up  in  the  North.  The  farmer' s  children  would  be  educated, 
and  the  social  position  of  the  poor  white  raised  to  the  level  of 
the  mechanics  and  farmers  of  the  North.  A  gentleman  who 
was  then  in  Washington,  and  was  for  many  years  in  active  service 
under  the  government,  and  who  enjoyed  considerable  opportu- 
nities for  observation,  says  of  this  book  that  its  publication  did 
more  than  anything  else  to  arouse  the  fears  of  the  Slave-power. 
Mr  Rhodes  states  the  matter  as  follows :  Had  the  poor  white 
been  able  to  read  and  comprehend  such  an  argument,  slavery 
would  have  been  doomed  to  destruction,  for  certainly,  seven 
voters  out  of  ten  in  the  slave  States  were  non-slave-holding 
whites."  The  little  tract  suddenly  bounded  into  notice,  its 
genuineness  being  attested  by  many  Republican  leaders.  The 
Southern  politicians  were  furious.  They  opposed  the  election 
of  John  Sherman  as  Speaker  of  the  House,  on  the  ground  that 


IX.] 


Helper  and  yohn  Brown, 


253 


he  had  been  one  of  those  who  had  vouched  for  the  genuineness 
of  the  pamphlet.  "No  man,"  said  they,  who  had  endorsed 
the  book,  "was  fit  to  be  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives." 

John  Brown  came  of  good  New  England  stock,  and  was 
imbued  with  the  old  Puritan  idea  that  God  was 
on  the  side  of  the  successful  soldier.  He  had  John  Brown, 
conducted  himself  in  Kansas  in  a  manner  which 
met  with  the  strong  disapprobation  of  many  persons  interested 
in  the  struggle  against  the  extension  of  slavery.  He  suddenly 
appeared  with  a  handful  of  men  at  Harper's  Ferry,  Virginia, 
at  the  confluence  of  the  Shenandoah  and  Potomac  Rivers. 
There  was  an  United  States  Arsenal  at  that  point,  and  Brown 
designed  to  seize  the  buildings  and  arms  stored  therein,  and 
*  to  use  them  for  the  purpose  of  arming  the  slaves.  He 
seized  the  arsenal  in  the  dead  of  night,  and,  at  the  head 
of  nineteen  men,  defied  the  United  States  and  the  State  of 
Virginia.  Brown  was  captured  with  all  but  two  of  his  followers. 
On  December  2nd,  1859,  he  was  executed  at  Charlestown, 
Virginia,  on  a  charge  of  murder  and  treason.  "So  perish  all 
such  enemies  of  Virginia,"  exclaimed  Colonel  Preston,  as  the 
body  dropped  through  the  trap  of  the  scaffold,  "  So  perish  all 
such  enemies  of  the  Union !  All  such  enemies  of  the  human 
race  1 "  The  poet  Longfellow,  in  his  quiet  study  at  Cambridge, 
Massachusetts,  viewed  the  matter  in  a  somewhat  different 
light,  and  jotted  down  in  his  journal:  "Even  now,  as  I  write, 
they  are  leading  old  John  Brown  to  execution  in  Virginia, 
for  attempting  to  rescue  slaves !  This  is  sowing  the  wind 
to  reap  the  whirlwind,  which  will  come  soon."  It  is  also 
interesting  to  observe  the  divergent  opinions  held  by  two 
men  who  bore  prominent  parts  in  the  war  for  the  Union, 
Lincoln  and  the  Massachusetts  "war  governor,"  John  A. 
Andrew.  The  former  stigmatized  Brown's  raid  as  "absurd  "  ; 
the  latter  stated  the  opinion  —  which  was  soon  to  be  held  by 


254 


The  Extension  of  Slavery. 


[Chap. 


many  men  —  that  no  matter  how  foolish  the  undertaking  may 
have  been,  "John  Brown  himself  is  right."  The  man  was 
raised  to  the  level  of  a  martyr,  and  singing  his  name,  men 
marched  into  battle  for  the  Union.  Indeed,  one  cannot 
help  speculating  as  to  the  sensations  experienced  by  an  on- 
looker of  the  execution,  when,  some  three  years  later,  a  Massa- 
chusetts regiment,  recruited  by  the  son  of  Daniel  Webster, 
and  hence  known  as  the  "Webster  Regiment,"  halted  where 
the  gallows  once  had  stood,  and  poured  forth  that  wonderful 
battle  song,  original  with  this  regiment : 

"  John  Brown's  body  lies  a-mouldering  in  the  grave, 
But  his  soul  goes  marching  on." 

The  Democratic  National  Convention  met  at  Charleston, 
^.  ^     South  Carolina,  in  April,  i860,  to  nominate  a 

Disruption  of  ?  i      ?  ? 

the  Demo-  successor  to  James  Buchanan,  then  President  of 

cratic  party.  ^j^^  United  States.  The  Slave-power  demanded 
that  the  principles  embodied  in  the  Dred  Scott  decision  should 
be  adopted  as  the  principles  of  the  Democratic  party  —  that  the 
national  government  should  "protect  slavery."  The  Southern- 
ers felt  the  moral  reproach  under  which  they  were  living,  and 
asserted  that  the  blame  for  this  was  on  the  shoulders  of  the 
Northerners.  "  In  the  progress  of  civilization,"  said  Yancey,  a 
delegate  from  Mississippi,  "the  North-west  has  grown  .  .  .  into 
the  free  proportions  of  a  giant  people.  We  [the  South]  there- 
fore, as  the  minority,  take  the  rights  ...  of  the  minority. "  "  The 
proposition  you  m.ake  will  bankrupt  us  at  the  South.  Ours  is 
the  property  invaded."  "The  honour  of  our  children,  the 
honour  of  our  females,  the  lives  of  our  men,  all  rest  on  you.  .  .  . 
You  acknowledged  that  slavery  was  wrong,  but  that  you  were 
not  to  blame.  That  was  your  position,  and  it  was  wrong.  I  say 
.  .  .  that  your  admission  that  slavery  is  wrong  has  been  the  cause 
of  all  this  discord."  The  Northern  Democrats,  therefore,  must 
assert  that  slavery  is  right.  "  Gentlemen  of  the  South, "  replied 
a  delegate,  Senator  Pugh  of  Ohio,  "we  will  not  do  it."  The 


IX.]  The  Demands  of  the  Slave-Power.  255 


Democratic  party  split  in  twain.  The  Southern  extremists  left 
the  Convention,  which  was  adjourned,  to  meet  at  Baltimore  in 
June.  But  no  agreement  could  be  reached.  The  Northern 
Democrats  nominated  Douglas  for  President,  and  the  Southern 
Democrats  nominated  Breckinridge,  of  Kentucky  —  at  the 
moment  occupying  the  position  of  Vice-President.  The  ultra- 
conservatives  of  all  parties  held  a  convention  of  their  own,  and 
nominated  Governor  Bell,  of  Tennessee,  as  the  Constitutional 
Union  Candidate.  The  Republican  party,  which  was  composed 
of  various  discordant  elements,  and  which  had  made  its  first 
presidential  contest  in  1856,  nominated  Abraham  Lincoln  for 
the  office  of  President.  Seward  was  a  more  prominent  man  in 
the  party;  but  he  had  been  long  in  political  life,  and  had 
made  many  enemies.  Lincoln  was  therefore  a  safer  candi- 
date, and  was  nominated  for  that  reason  and  because  of  his 
presumed  ability  to  carry  several  Western  States. 

The  issues  upon  which  the  campaign  was  fought  must  be 
adverted  to  again.  The  last  demand  of  the  Slave-  The  De- 
power  was  stated  by  Mr  Gaulden  of  Georgia,  in  siave-VoMers, 
the  following  speech,  which  was  received  with  1859. 
approval  by  the  Southern  members  of  the  Charleston  Conven- 
tion. Mr  Gaulden  stated  his  belief  "that  slavery  is  right, 
morally,  religiously,  socially,  and  politically.  I  believe  that 
slavery  has  done  more  for  this  country,  more  for  civilization, 
than  all  other  interests  put  together.  I  would  ask  our  Northern 
friends  to  give  us  all  our  rights,  and  take  off  the  ruthless  restric- 
tions which  cut  off  the  supply  of  slaves  from  foreign  lands." 
The  position  of  the  slave-owners  in  i860  might  be  stated  in  a 
concise  form  as  follows :  Slavery  is  right,  and  we  are  unjustly 
accused  of  doing  wrong;  our  slave  property  is  expressly  guar- 
anteed by  the  Constitution  —  the  Northern  people  must  use  its 
power  to  protect  this  property;  as  slavery  is  right  and  entitled 
to  protection,  it  should  be  encouraged  by  the  re-establishment 
of  the  slave-trade.    The  most  interesting  part  of  the  Southern 


256 


The  Extension  of  Slavery, 


[Chap. 


case  is  the  contention  that  it  was  the  Northerners  who  had  cast 
the  reproach  on  the  slave-owner.  Lincoln  and  the  Republican 
leaders  asserted,  and  with  the  utmost  sincerity,  that  they  had 
no  intention  of  interfering  with  the  institution  of  slavery  where 
it  existed.  The  Republicans  were  entirely  distinct  from  those 
Abolitionists,  like  Phillips  and  Garrison,  who  refused  to  exer- 
cise their  constitutional  right  to  vote.  Indeed  the  Abolitionists 
properly  so  called,  namely,  those  who,  if  they  had  the  power, 
would  abolish  slavery,  had  made  small  progress  in  the  last 
twenty  years.  The  Republicans,  however,  were  opposed  to  the 
further  extension  of  slavery.  On  this  question  they  stood 
firmly  and  squarely  on  the  ground  occupied  by  the  fathers  of 
the  Constitution,  and  justly  named  themselves  Republican. 
They  maintained,  as  the  men  of  1787  had  maintained, 
that  slavery  should  be  regarded  as  a  State  matter  —  that  the 
voters  of  each  State  could  decide  at  any  time,  and  change 
their  minds  as  often  as  they  chose,  whether  their  State  should 
be  a  slave-labour  State,  or  a  free-labour  State.  They  denied, 
however,  that  the  national  government  should  be  used  as  a 
machine  to  extend  slavery.  The  dissensions  in  the  Democratic 
party  resulted  in  the  election  of  Lincoln,  the  Republican  leader. 
South  Carolina,  alone  of  all  the  States,  adhered  to  the  time- 
dishonoured  practice  of  choosing  presidential 
1860^-^?^'°"'  electors  by  vote  of  the  legislature.  Having 
performed  that  duty  in  November,  i860,  the 
legislature  remained  in  session  until  the  result  of  the  election 
should  be  assured.  When  it  was  known  that  Lincoln  had 
been  elected,  it  provided  for  the  calling  of  a  State  Con- 
vention, to  be  held  on  the  17th  of  December  (i860),  next 
following.  On  the  20th  of  that  month,  the  people  of 
South  Carolina,  in  Convention  assembled,  repealed  the  ordi- 
nance of  the  Convention  of  1788  ratifying  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States,  and  declared  the  Union  between  South 
Carolina  and  the  other  States  dissolved.    The  Convention  also 


IX.] 


Secession^  1 860-6 1 . 


257 


issued  a  Declaration  of  Causes  setting  forth  the  reasons  which 
had  made  this  secession  necessary.  Before  March,  1861,  six 
other  States:  Mississippi,  Florida,  Alabama,  Georgia,  Louis- 
iana, and  Texas  seceded.  The  people  of  these  States  seized 
the  national  property  within  the  State  limits,  and  only  three 
military  posts  in  the  seceded  States  remained  in  the  hands 
of  the  national  authority  when  Lincoln  took  the  oath  of  ofifice 
on  March  4th,  1861. 

CA.  17 


CHAPTER  X. 


THE  WAR  FOR  THE  UNION,  1861-65. 

The  documents,  wherem  the  politicians  of  South  Carolina 
The  Causes      attempted  to  justify  her  course,  furnish  at  once 
of  the  Civil         the  reason  for  secession  and  for  the  ultimate 
^^^*  defeat  of  the  South  in  the  War.    So  far  as 

governmental  ideas  were  concerned,  the  leaders  of  public 
opinion  in  the  South  in  1861  occupied  the  same  ground  that 
their  great-grandfathers  had  occupied  in  1776.  Volumes  have 
been  written  expounding  the  arguments  for  and  against  State- 
rights.  It  is  not  necessary  for  the  proper  understanding  of 
the  points  at  issue  in  1861  to  go  into  these  arguments.  The 
Southern  States  which  seceded  first  and  last  were,  broadly 
speaking,  agricultural  communities.  This  fact  had  led  to  the 
introduction  of  slavery  in  the  beginning,  and  slavery,  once 
established,  had  prevented  those  communities  from  becoming 
other  than  agricultural.  There  was  only  one  city  of  any 
considerable  importance  in  the  whole  slave-holding  section, 
south  of  the  Potomac.  This  was  New  Orleans,  which,  in 
i860,  contained  a  population  of  one  hundred  and  sixty-eight 
thousand.  Moreover,  its  prosperity  was  due  in  great  measure 
to  the  fact  that  it  was,  to  a  greater  extent  then  than  now,  the 
entrepot  for  the  commerce  of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  The 
North,  on  the  other  hand,  had  developed  into  a  country  of 

258 


Chap,  x.]      The  Causes  of  the  Civil  War,  259 

diversified  interests,  agriculture,  manufactures,  and  commerce. 
The  population  was  dense  compared  with  that  of  the  South. 
The  city  of  New  York  alone  contained  eight  hundred  thousand 
inhabitants,  and  the  population  of  Philadelphia  was  estimated 
at  over  half  a  million;  while  Baltimore,  Boston,  Brooklyn, 
Chicago,  Cincinnati,  and  St  Louis  each  contained  over  one  hun- 
dred thousand  souls.  Moreover,  throughout  the  North  —  with 
the  exception  of  the  newly  settled  North-west  —  there  were  to 
be  found,  every  few  miles  along  the  lines  of  steam  communi- 
cation, thriving  manufacturing  and  commercial  towns,  some 
of  them  like  Cleveland,  Albany,  and  Lowell  approaching  the 
dimensions  of  cities.  Of  the  one  hundred  and  seven  cotton 
mills  in  operation,  ninety-nine  were  in  the  North.  The  material 
interests  of  the  two  sections  were  therefore  entirely  unlike. 
The  North  had  outgrown  the  economic  conditions  of  1776, 
and  at  the  same  time  had  developed  a  new  set  of  political 
theories.  The  representatives  of  each  section,  as  if  unconscious 
of  the  true  nature  of  the  dispute,  endeavoured  to  justify  their 
positions  by  appeals  to  the  Constitution  and  by  arguments 
based  on  that  instrument.  Mr  Lodge  has  shown  the  fallacy 
of  this  mode  of  reasoning  in  his  comments  on  Mr  Webster's 
" Reply  to  Hayne."  He  asserts  that  in  1787-88  "there  was 
not  a  man  in  the  country  .  .  .  who  regarded  the  new  system  as 
anything  but  an  experiment  entered  upon  by  the  States,  and 
from  which  each  and  every  State  had  the  right  peaceably  to 
withdraw,  a  right  which  was  very  likely  to  be  exercised." 
Gerry  had  stated  the  case  very  well  at  the  time  the  con- 
stitution of  the  Senate  was  under  consideration  in  the  federal 
Convention.  He  then  said :  "  We  are  neither  the  same  nation 
nor  different  nations.  We  ought  not,  therefore,  to  pursue  the 
one  or  the  other  of  these  ideas  too  closely."  The  Constitution 
of  the  United  States,  therefore,  permitted  of  development  in 
either  or  in  both  directions.  Farther  on,  in  speaking  of  the  Nul- 
lification episode,  Mr  Lodge  says :  "  The  times  had  changed 

17 — 2 


26o 


The  War  for  the  Union, 


[Chap. 


and  with  them  the  popular  conception  of  the  government." 
Between  1830  and  i860  the  "  times  "  had  changed  still  more, and 
the  conception  of  the  nature  of  the  federal  government  held  by 
the  mass  of  the  people  of  the  North  in  i860  was  substantially 
that  which  Webster  had  laid  down  in  his  great  speech. 
They  believed  the  United  States  to  be  a  nation.  The  mass 
of  the  Southern  people  held  to  the  constitutional  theories  of 
Calhoun.  Their  idea  of  the  nature  of  the  general  government 
may  be  gathered  from  the  safeguards  which  the  framers  of  the 
Constitution  of  the  Confederacy  placed  around  the  States.  In 
that  document  it  is  stated,  for  instance,  that  in  the  formation 
of  the  government  each  State  "acted  in  its  sovereign  and 
independent  character."  In  the  Senate  of  the  Confederacy, 
each  State  was  represented  by  two  Senators;  but  in  certain 
cases,  the  votes  should  be  taken  by  States  and  not  by  poll  as 
is  always  the  rule  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  The 
State  legislatures  of  the  Confederate  States  possessed  the  right 
to  impeach  officers  of  the  general  government,  and  the  process 
of  amendment  was  simplified  and  made  easy.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  States  of  the  Confederacy  were  limited  in  the  exercise 
of  the  right  to  confer  State  citizenship. 

The  Civil  War  was  fought  to  determine  which  of  these 
„  ^  ,  .         conceptions  of  the  nature  of  the  federal  tie 

Underlying  ^ 

Causes  of  the  should  be  adopted  as  the  true  interpretation 
Civil  War.  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  As 

this  interpretation  is  historically  uncertain,  we  cannot  speak 
of  the  war  as  a  rebellion,  for  it  was  fought,  so  to  say,  to 
determine  whether  the  seceders  were  rebels  or  not.  Then, 
too,  a  movement  on  such  a  vast  scale  and  extending  over  such 
a  long  space  of  time  is  something  more  than  a  rebellion  — 
even  when  unsuccessful.  Furthermore,  the  war  was  not  begun 
to  secure  the  destruction  of  slavery,  although  slavery  was 
abolished  as  a  result  of  the  conflict.  It  may  be  regarded, 
however,  from  a  Southern  point  of  view,  as  a  war  waged  to 


X.] 


Natitre  of  the  War, 


perpetuate  slavery,  since  slavery  was  at  the  bottom  of  the  social 
and  material  distinctions  which  separated  the  country  into  two 
irreconcilable  sections. 

A  Northern  historical  student,  who  has  begun  to  study 
these  matters  since  the  close  of  the  war,  finds  it 
difficult  to  understand  why  the  Southern  leaders  po^lSonrisei. 
chose  the  occasion  of  Lincoln's  election  to  put 
the  secession  theory  into  practice  —  especially  as  failure  meant 
the  establishment  of  nationalism.  Lincoln  had  received  an 
overwhelming  majority  of  the  electoral  votes;  but  he  had 
polled  only  a  minority  of  the  popular  vote  —  the  Republican 
ballots  numbering  one  million  eight  hundred  thousand  to  two 
million  eight  hundred  thousand  cast  for  the  other  candidates. 
Moreover,  the  Republicans  were  at  first  the  smaller  party  in 
both  Houses  of  Congress  and  were  only  placed  in  a  majority 
by  the  withdrawal  of  the  Senators  and  Representatives  of  the 
seceding  States.  Plainly,  Mr  Lincoln,  the  President  of  a 
minority  and  supported  by  a  minority  in  Congress,  had  no 
mandate  from  the  country  to  destroy  Southern  institutions  or 
to  establish  Republican  theories  of  nationalism.  So  long  as 
the  Southerners  remained  in  Congress,  it  would  have  been  im- 
possible for  him  to  do  these  things  or  either  of  them.  In 
point  of  fact,  the  Republicans  could  not  have  destroyed 
slavery  so  long  as  a  condition  of  peace  continued.  The  levying 
of  war  by  the  Southern  leaders  completely  changed  the  aspect 
of  affairs.  The  Republicans  gained  control  of  Congress,  and 
the  President  became  entitled  to  exercise  his  "war  powers  "  as 
the  constitutional  commander-in-chief  of  the  army  and  navy 
of  the  United  States.  Years  before,  John  Quincy  Adams  had 
warned  the  slave-owners  of  their  danger.  "  From  the  instant 
that  your  slave-holding  States  become  the  theatre  of  war,^'  he 
said,  "  from  that  instant  the  war-powers  of  the  Constitution 
extend  to  interference  with  the  institution  of  slavery  in  every 
way."    These  words  were  uttered  by  ex-President  Adams  in 


262 


The  War  for  the  Union. 


[Chap. 


1836.  Recurring  to  the  subject  in  1842,  he  stated  that  in 
time  of  war,  whether  civil  or  foreign,  municipal  institutions 
give  place  to  military  authority.  At  such  a  time  so  far  from 
its  being  true  that  the  States  where  slavery  exists  have  the 
exclusive  management  of  the  subject,  not  only  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  but  the  commander  of  the  army  has 
power  to  order  the  universal  emancipation  of  the  slaves." 
The  Southern  slave-holders  were  undoubtedly  correct  in  be- 
lieving that  the  moral  sense  of  the  people  of  the  North  was 
opposed  to  slavery;  and  that,  therefore,  the  institution  of 
slavery  was  doomed.  It  was  this  conviction  that  led  to  seces- 
sion —  the  election  of  Lincoln  was  only  the  pretext. 

It  is  probable  that  very  many  Southern  leaders  did  not 
Probabiiit^  cxpcct  that  Separation  would  be  of  long  con- 
of  a  Compro-  tinuaucc.  They  hoped  to  make  better  terms 
out  of  the  Union  than  in  it.  The  people  of  the 
North  seemed  to  have  reached  the  end  of  what  might  be  called 
peaceable  compromise;  secession  might  bring  about  coercive 
compromise,  so  to  speak.  If  Jackson  had  had  his  way  in 
1833,  or  had  Taylor  lived  two  years  longer,  the  efficacy  of  this 
new  instrument  might  have  been  earlier  tested.  The  conse- 
quences of  failure  never  seem  to  have  presented  themselves  to 
the  Southern  leaders.  Probably  they  had  never  regarded  failure 
as  possible.  The  Southerners  gave  a  new  example  of  that 
condition  of  ignorance  of  the  feelings  and  capacities  of  one's 
neighbours  which  is  not  unfamiliar  to  the  student  of  European 
history.  The  people  of  the  North  and  of  the  South,  although 
living  under  one  government,  were  wider  apart  than  the  peoples 
of  many  nations  of  modern  times.  On  the  surface,  there 
seemed  to  be  a  basis  for  the  confidence  of  the  slave-holders. 

The  area  of  the  United  States  devoted  to  slavery  was 
greater  than  that  dedicated  to  free  labour.  A  cursory 
examination  of  the  map,  therefore,  would  seem  to  settle  the 
question  in  favour  of  the  slave -power.    Slavery,  however,  was 


X.]  The  North  and  the  South.  263 

incompatible  with  density  of  population;  and  a  study  of 
the  Census  of  i860  reveals  the  fact  that  of  more      „    .  ^. 

Population 

than  thirty-one  million  human  beings  who  of  the  seceded 
then  inhabited  the  United  States,  only  about 
twelve  millions  dwelt  in  the  slave  States.  As  a  partial  offset 
to  this  disproportion  in  population,  the  Southern  leaders  ex- 
pected that  the  people  of  the  newly  settled  regions  of  the 
North-west  would  side  with  them,  or,  at  least,  would  remain 
neutral.  At  the  very  outset,  the  seceders  met  with  two  great 
disasters :  the  North-west  threw  its  whole  strength  on  the  side 
of  union  and  all  the  slave  States  did  not  secede.  The  popu- 
lation of  the  seceding  States  was  in  this  way  about  three  and 
one-half  millions  less  than  that  of  the  slave-holding  States. 
Subtracting  this  number  from  one  side  and  adding  it  to  the 
other,  it  is  found  that  the  States  which  seceded  contained 
less  than  nine  million  inhabitants  to  more  than  twenty-two  mil- 
lions living  in  the  Union  States.  Moreover,  of  the  nine  millions 
dwelling  in  the  former  section  about  three  and  one-half  millions 
were  negro  slaves.  The  free  population  of  the  Confederate 
States  was  only  about  five  and  one-half  millions.  The  entire 
adult  male  white  population  of  the  seceding  States  was  only 
two  million  seven  hundred  and  ninety-nine  thousand  and  the 
federal  government  had  on  its  muster  rolls  in  May  1865  over 
one  million  men,  exclusive  of  those  serving  in  the  navy.  In 
this  connection  one  more  fact  may  be  stated.  There  were 
only  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  slave-holders  in 
the  whole  country  in  i860,  and  probably  not  more  than  two 
millions  of  white  persons  were  supported  directly  by  slave 
labour. 

President  Buchanan,  a  Democrat,  occupied  the  position  of 
chief  magistrate  at  the  time  of  the  secession  of      „  ^ 

°      ,  Buchanan's 

South  Carolina.    He  possessed  constitutional  constitutional 
scruples  against  coercing  a    sovereign  State";  scruples, 
and  the  possibility  of  coercing  a  Southerner  seems  not  to 


/ 


264 


The  War  for  the  Union. 


[Chap. 


have  occurred  to  him.  Nor  was  the  doctrine  yet  invented 
whiqji  comforted  many  a  Northern  Democrat  later  on  —  that 
the  sovereign  State  of  Pennsylvania  or  New  York  might  wage 
war  on  the  sovereign  State  of  South  Carolina.  The  constitu- 
tional position  of  the  administration  was  extraordinary.  It 
seemed  to  be  admitted  that  South  Carolina  was  sufficiently 
'^sovereign  "  to  seize  the  forts,  arsenal,  and  military  equipment 
of  the  United  States  which  might  happen  to  be  within  her 
borders;  but  was  not  sufficiently  '^sovereign  "  to  be  warred  on 
and  coerced  by  a  presumably  sovereign  government  like  the 
United  States.  South  Carolina  commissioners  appeared  at 
Washington  to  arrange  for  a  partition  of  the  public  debt  and 
assets,  for  although  "out  of  the  Union"  in  this  sense  she  was 
"  in  the  Union  "  as  regards  coercion. 

On  the  I  St  of  January,  1861,  many  Republican  State 
governors,  Andrew  of  Massachusetts  and  Blair  of  Michigan, 
for  example,  were  sworn  into  office  in  the  North.  They  were 
not  content  to  allow  matters  to  drift  along,  and  began  making 
preparations  for  war.  Some  of  them,  like  Andrew,  ordered 
arms  and  ammunition  from  foreign  firms  on  their  own  re- 
sponsibility, and  thus  were  enabled  to  equip  their  State  troops 
for  service  and  send  them  to  Washington  within  a  day  or  two 
after  the  fall  of  Fort  Sumter. 

Abraham  Lincoln  was  inaugurated  President  on  March  4th, 
Lincoln's  1 86 1.  He  was  a  typical  man  of  the  people,  and 
Inaugural  represented  that  which  was  soundest  in  Ameri- 

Address.  ^{{^^    His  father  belonged  to  that  most  dis- 

couraging class  —  the  poor  white  "  of  the  South.  Absolutely 
without  early  advantages,  Abraham  Lincoln  raised  himself  by 
his  own  efforts  to  the  highest  position  in  the  gift  of  his  fellow- 
men.  In  his  seriousness  and  in  his  humour,  nay  even  in  his 
ungainly  person  and  kindly  face,  he  stood  for  the  American 
people.  In  his  inaugural  address  he  stated  that  he  considered 
"  that  in  the  view  of  the  Constitution  and  the  laws,  the  Union 


X.] 


Lincoln's  Inauguration, 


265 


is  unbroken,  and  to  the  extent  of  my  ability  I  shall  take  care, 
as  the  Constitution  itself  expressly  enjoins  upon  me,  that  the 
laws  of  the  Union  be  faithfully  executed  in  all  the  States." 
Appealing  to  the  Southerners,  he  said:  "In  your  hands, 
my  dissatisfied  fellow-countrymen,  and  not  in  mine,  is  the 
momentous  issue  of  civil  war  .  .  .  You  have  no  oath  registered 
in  Heaven  to  destroy  the  Government,  while  I  have  the  most 
solemn  one  to  preserve,  protect,  and  defend  it." 

He  gathered  about  him  a  cabinet  of  able  men:  Seward, 
Secretary  of  State,  Chase,  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  Cameron,  and  later  Stanton,  Secretary  poHcy^°^"'^ 
of  War,  and  Welles,  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  Mr 
Seward  at  first  appears  to  have  regarded  himself  as  the  head  of 
the  government ;  but  Lincoln  quietly  set  him  in  his  proper 
place,  and  throughout  the  war  exercised  himself  the  great 
powers  conferred  on  him,  although  he  always  took  advice  as  to 
any  important  matter.  In  pursuance  of  the  conciliatory  yet 
firm  line  of  policy  enunciated  in  his  inaugural  address,  he  sent 
word  to  the  Governor  of  South  Carolina  that  the  federal 
garrison  in  Fort  Sumter  would  be  provisioned.  Then  ensued 
the  bombardment  and  capture  of  that  fort  by  the  Southerners, 
on  April  14th,  1861.  The  next  day  President  Lincoln  issued  a 
proclamation  calling  for  seventy-five  thousand  volunteers.  This 
document,  which  was  elaborated  with  great  skill,  contains  an 
admirable  statement  of  the  points  in  controversy  from  the 
Northern  standpoint. 

"The  laws  of  the  United  States,"  said  the  President,  "have 
been  for  some  time  past,  and  now  are  opposed, 
and  the  execution  thereof  obstructed  in  the  States  procUmation 
of  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Alabama,  Florida, 
Mississippi,  Louisiana,  and  Texas,  by  combinations  too  power- 
ful to  be  suppressed  by  the  ordinary  course  of  judicial  pro- 
ceedings. 

"Now,  therefore,  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the 


266 


The  War  for  the  Union, 


[Chap. 


United  States,  in  virtue  of  the  power  in  me  vested  by  the  Con- 
stitution and  the  laws,  have  thought  fit  to  call  forth,  and 
hereby  do  call  forth,  the  militia  of  the  several  States  of  the 
Union,  to  the  aggregate  number  of  seventy-five  thousand,  in 
order  to  suppress  said  combinations,  and  to  cause  the  laws  to  be 
duly  executed, 

I  appeal  to  all  loyal  citizens  to  favour,  facilitate,  and  aid 
this  effort  to  maintain  the  honour,  the  integrity,  and  existence 
of  our  national  Union,  and  the  perpetuity  of  popular  govern- 
ment, and  to  redress  wrongs  already  long  enough  endured. 

"And  I  hereby  command  the  persons  composing  the  com- 
binations aforesaid  to  disperse  and  retire  peaceably  to  their 
respective  abodes,  within  twenty  days  from  this  date."  He 
also  summoned  Congress  to  meet  on  July  4th,  1861. 

The  response  to  this  call  for  aid  was  more  hearty  than 
even  Lincoln,  in  his  simple  faith  in  the  righteous- 
teers^o7i86i"'      ^^^^  cause,  could  have  hoped  for;  many 

times  seventy-five  thousand  men  prepared  to 
answer  the  summons.  Douglas,  his  late  rival  for  the  presi- 
dency, promised  the  President  his  hearty  support,  and  this  fact 
telegraphed  over  the  country  turned  many  a  doubting  mind. 
The  ex- Presidents,  Franklin  Pierce  and  James  Buchanan,  also 
"came  out  for  the  Union,"  now  that  the  seceders  had  levied 
war  on  the  national  government. 

Four  days  later,  on  April  19th,  1861  — the  anniversary  of 
the  battles  of  Lexington  and  Concord  —  the  Sixth 
stateV''^^^^^*^  Massachusetts  Regiment,  hastening  to  the  de- 
fence of  the  capital,  was  attacked  by  a  mob  while 
marching  through  the  streets  of  Baltimore,  and  several  men 
were  killed  and  wounded.  This  was  the  first  bloodshed  of  the 
war,  for  the  garrison  of  Fort  Sumter  had  surrendered  to  starva- 
tion. Baltimore  was  soon  cut  off  from  the  rest  of  the  country. 
But  troops  proceeded  by  way  of  Annapolis,  and  soon  Wash- 
ington and  Maryland  were  saved  for  the  Union.  Delaware, 


X.] 


Progress  of  Secession, 


267 


also,  in  which  slavery  existed,  took  the  same  side.  In  Missouri 
there  was  a  large  body  of  men  favourable  to  the  cause  of 
secession.  But,  largely  through  the  exertions  of  General  Lyon, 
who  lost  his  life  in  the  struggle,  Missouri  was  prevented  from 
joining  the  Southern  cause.  Kentucky  also  was  saved,  after 
giving  the  administration  considerable  anxiety.  The  people  of 
the  western  part  of  Virginia  had  no  sympathy  with  secession. 
They  were  outvoted  in  the  State  Convention  by  the  delegates 
from  the  eastern  part  of  the  State ;  but,  with  the  aid  of  a  small 
Union  army,  they  seceded  from  Virginia.  Later,  in  1862,  that 
section  was  admitted  to  the  Union  as  the  State  of  West 
Virginia  —  although  not  without  straining  a  point  of  constitu- 
tional interpretation.  Tennessee,  Arkansas,  and  the  remainder 
of  Virginia  seceded  from  the  Union  and  joined  the  extreme 
Southern  States  in  their  resistance  to  the  federal  authorities. 

Men  who  already  had  some  knowledge  of  military  methods 
naturally  came  to  the  front  in  the  early  days  of 
recruiting.    Among  them  was  Ulysses  S.  Grant,  Q^^nt^'^^^ 
of  Galena,  Illinois.    He  had  been  educated  at 
West  Point,  the  government  military  training  school,  and  had 
served  with  the  colours  during  the  Mexican  War.    He  now 
entered  with  great  energy  into  the  contest;  and  acting  under 
the  authority  of  the  Governor  of  Illinois,  he  seized  the  town  of 
Cairo,  in  the  extreme  south-western  corner  of  that  State,  where 
the  Ohio  joins  the  Mississippi.    Soon  afterwards  he  took  pos- 
session of  Paducah,  at  the  junction  of  the  Ohio  and  Tennessee 
Rivers.    These  two  opportune  seizures  prevented  the  Confed- 
erates from  using  the  Ohio  River  as  their  first  line  of  de- 
fence. 

The  earliest  considerable  conflict  of  the  war,  however,  was 
the  battl^  of  Bull  Run,  in  Virginia.    At  the  first 
glance,  the  conditions  of  warfare  east  of  the  of^jrgfnfa.^^ 
Alleghanies  seem  difficult  to  comprehend.  But 
a  knowledge  of  the  field  of  operations  will  help  to  diminish  the 


268 


The  War  for  the  Union. 


[Chap. 


difficulty  of  understanding  the  strategy  of  the  Virginia  cam- 
paigns. The  eastern  portion  of  Virginia  is  divided  into  two 
unequal  parts  by  a  mountain  chain,  whose  axis  is  parallel  to  the 
Alleghany  system,  and  which  is  known  as  the  Blue  Ridge. 
Between  the  Blue  Ridge  and  the  Alleghanies  proper  flows  the 
Shenandoah  River,  in  a  general  northerly  direction,  emptying 
into  the  Potomac  River  at  Harper's  Ferry.  The  Potomac 
forms  the  northern  boundary  of  Virginia^  which  is  intersected 
by  numerous  large  rivers  having  their  sources  in  the  Blue  Ridge 
and  flowing  parallel  to  the  Potomac  in  a  general  west  to  east 
direction.  The  most  northerly  of  these  subsidiary  rivers  is  the 
Rappahannock,  which  at  several  places  approaches  to  within  a 
few  miles  of  the  Potomac,  notably  at  Fredericksburg.  The 
principal  branch  of  the  Rappahannock  is  the  Rapidan,  and  just 
south  of  these  rivers  and  near  their  confluence  is  a  stretch  of 
sparsely  settled  country,  known  locally  as  the  Wilderness,  and 
containing  among  other  hamlets  Spottsylvania  and  Chancellors- 
ville.  Other  important  streams  are  the  York,  which  is  formed 
of  the  Mattapony  and  Pamunkey  Rivers,  and  the  James,  upon 
which  the  important  city  of  Richmond  is  situated.  Midway 
between  the  York  and  James  Rivers  flows  a  smaller  stream, 
the  Chickahominy.  The  Valley  of  the  Shenandoah,  lying 
at  right  angles  to  the  sources  of  these  rivers,  is  connected 
with  eastern  Virginia  by  a  series  of  passes  or  "gaps,"  to 
use  the  local  name,  through  one  of  which,  Manassas  Gap,  ran 
a  railroad  connecting  the  Valley  with  a  trunk  line  which 
leaves  the  Potomac  opposite  Washington  and  runs  southward 
parallel  with  the  Blue  Ridge.  The  junction  of  these  two 
lines  of  railroad  was  near  a  small  stream  called  Bull  Run. 
The  protection  of  Washington  demanded  the  closing  of  the 
Shenandoah  Valley  and  holding  of  the  line  of  the  Rappa- 
hannock. The  Confederate  plan  of  campaign  was  to  hold  the 
federal  army  fast  on  one  of  these  lines  and  force  it  back  on  the 
other.    To  either  party  Manassas  Junction  was  of  the  utmost 


X.] 


Battle  of  Bull  Run, 


269 


importance,  as  the  possession  of  the  Manassas  Gap  railroad 
would  enable  the  possessor  to  reinforce  his  army  in  the 
Valley  or  in  front  of  Washington  with  both  ease  and  speed. 
Manoeuvring  to  gain  this  point  brought  on  the  first  battle  of 
Bull  Run  (July  21,  1861).  The  federal  plan  of  campaign 
was  that  McDowell,  with  the  main  Union  army, 
should  advance  southward  from  Washington  Buii^un^sei 
and  drive  the  Confederates,  posted  near  Bull 
Run,  over  the  Rappahannock  and  back  towards  Richmond. 
At  the  same  time.  General  Patterson  was  to  press  the  Con- 
federate force  in  the  Valley  under  Joseph  E.  Johnston  and 
prevent  reinforcements  being  sent  to  Beauregard  at  Bull  Run. 
But  Patterson,  instead  of  advancing,  retreated.  Johnston  put 
his  men  on  the  railway  cars  and  transported  them  to  Bull  Run 
in  time  to  decide  the  conflict.  After  a  fierce  combat,  the 
Union  army  was  routed  and  fled  in  a  panic  to  the  Potomac 
and  Washington.  This  closed  the  campaign  in  the  East. 
McDowell  was  supplanted  by  George  B.  McClellan,  who  had 
won  some  easy  victories  in  West  Virginia,  at  such  extraor- 
dinarily named  places  as  Vienna  and  Philippi.  He  proved 
to  be  a  great  organizer  and  drill-master.  Recruits  poured  in 
to  the  defence  of  Washington,  and  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
emerged  from  its  winter  camps  a  thoroughly  organized  body  of 
men.  The  disaster  at  Bull  Run  had  served  to  arouse  the 
North.  It  had  served  also  to  disorganize  the  Confederate 
army,  for  many  Southerners,  regarding  the  war  as  over,  left 
the  front  to  resume  their  usual  occupations. 

Meantime  the  country  seemed  to  be  fast  drifting  towards  a 
conflict  with  Great  Britain.    That  power,  as  well 
as  France,  had  accorded  belligerent  rights  to  the  Great*Brrtain°^ 
Southerners  almost  at  the  outset,  urged  thereto, 
doubtless,  by  the  proclamation  of  a  blockade  of  the  Southern 
ports.    It  seemed  likely  that  they  might  even  go  farther,  and 
acknowledge  the  independence  of  the  Confederacy  —  although 


270 


The  War  for  the  Union. 


[Chap. 


this  was  never  done.  To  hasten  this  result,  however,  the 
Southern  government  despatched  two  commissioners  to  Europe. 
Escaping  through  the  blockading  fleet,  they  embarked  at 
Havanna  on  board  of  the  British  mail  steamer  Trent^  and 
were  removed  from  the  deck  of  that  vessel,  on  the  high  seas, 
by  a  boarding  party  from  the  United  States  war-ship  San 
Jacinto.  This  act  aroused  great  indignation  in  Great  Britain, 
and  war  seemed  imminent.  Fortunately,  the  commander  of  the 
San  Jacinto^  either  from  ignorance,  or  for  some  other  reason, 
had  not  complied  with  all  the  formalities  required  by  the  rules 
of  International  Law.  The  United  States  was  able,  therefore, 
to  give  up  the  commissioners  without  loss  of  honour.  Indeed, 
Mr  Seward  gave  the  matter  rather  the  air  of  a  triumph  by 
reminding  the  British  government  that  the  United  States  had 
always  resisted  the  exercise  of  a  similar  right  of  search  on  the 
part  of  Great  Britain,  and  added  that  the  American  people  now 
did  to  "the  British  nation  just  what  we  have  always  insisted  all 
nations  ought  to  do  to  us. "  The  readiness  with  which  the  British 
government  seized  the  first  opportunity  to  embarrass  the  Union 
government  created  a  bitterness  of  feeling  in  America  which 
was  not  lessened  by  the  laxity  shown  by  Great  Britain  in  en- 
forcing international  obligations  in  the  case  of  the  Alabama 
and  other  Confederate  vessels.  It  is  easy  to  understand  the 
apprehension  with  which  many  English  statesmen  viewed  the 
increasing  power  of  the  United  States,  and  the  welcome  which 
some  of  them,  Mr  Gladstone,  for  instance,  would  have  given  to 
the  new  "nation,"  as  he  denominated  the  Confederacy.  It  is 
not  so  easy  to  understand  the  sympathy  which  existed  between 
English  "society"  and  the  Southern  slave-owners,  who  had, 
only  a  few  months  before,  clamoured  for  the  reopening  of 
the  African  slave-trade.  Apart  from  the  governing  classes  the 
mass  of  the  British  nation  sympathized  with  the  North.  Some 
leading  men,  as  John  Bright  and  Goldwin  Smith,  strongly 
supported  the  Northern  side;  and  the  heroic  qualities  dis- 


X.] 


Early  Campaigns  in  the  West, 


271 


played  by  the  Lancashire  operatives  in  bearing  the  miseries 
inflicted  by  the  blockade  still  arouse  admiration  on  both  sides 
of  the  Atlantic. 

The  Confederate  line  of  defence  in  the  West  extended  from 
the  mountains  to  the  Mississippi.  If  one  runs 
one's  eye  along  the  northern  boundary  of  Ten-  to^onefson^ 
nessee,  one  can  easily  discern  the  important 
points  in  this  first  line  of  defence.  At  Cumberland  Gap  the 
boundary  leaves  the  mountains  and  reaches  the  Mississippi  a 
little  to  the  north  of  New  Madrid  and  Island  No.  10.  These 
two  points  formed  the  two  ends  of  the  Confederate  line.  The 
Cumberland  River,  rising  to  the  west  of  Cumberland  Gap,  flows 
south  and  west  by  Mill  Spring  to  Nashville.  At  that  point  it 
bends  sharply  to  the  north,  and  empties  into  the  Ohio  not  far 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Tennessee.  The  latter  river,  rising  in 
Virginia  to  the  east  of  Cumberland  Gap,  flows  at  first  nearly 
south,  passing  Knoxville  a  few  miles  to  the  east  and  later 
Chattanooga.  It  then  turns  slowly  to  the  west,  and  at  Florence 
sharply  bends  to  the  north  and  empties  into  the  Ohio  at  Pa- 
ducah.  These  two  rivers  pursuing  similar  semicircular  courses 
formed  natural  lines  of  defence  against  invasion.  In  January, 
1862,  a  Union  army  led  by  General  George  H.  Thomas  defeated 
an  equal  force  of  Confederates  at  the  battle  of  Mill  Spring,  and 
compelled  the  abandonment  of  the  upper  Cumberland  valley. 
At  a  point  where  the  two  rivers  in  their  northerly  courses 
approach  to  within  ten  miles  of  each  other,  the  Confederates 
had  constructed  two  forts.  Fort  Henry  on  the  Tennessee,  and 
Fort  Donelson  on  the  Cumberland.  These  strongholds  com- 
manded the  navigation  of  the  two  streams,  and  had  to  be 
captured  before  any  invasion  could  be  undertaken  by  the 
Northern  forces.  This  was  handsomely  accomplished  by  an 
army  under  Grant,  and  a  co-operating  naval  force  under  Foote 
(Feb.  1862).  In  the  following  March,  another  Union  army 
under  Pope  seized  New  Madrid  and  Island  No.  10.  The 


2/2 


The  War  for  the  Union. 


[Chap. 


next  month  witnessed  the  capture  of  New  Orleans  by  a  naval 
force  commanded  by  Farragut. 

The  city  of  New  Orleans  stands  on  the  river's  bank  a  few 
Farragut  ^^^^  ^^^^  above  the  surface  of  the  stream.  It  is 
captures  New  about  One  hundred  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Orleans.  great  river,  and  was  protected  from  attack  by  tRe 

shallowness  of  the  water  at  the  river's  mouth,  by  the  amphibious 
nature  of  the  country  between  it  and  Lakes  Maurepas  and  Pont- 
chartrain,  and  by  two  forts  situated  on  either  side  of  the  river 
some  distance  below  the  city.  The  blockade  was  very  difficult 
to  enforce  at  this  point,  and  this  made  the  possession  of  New 
Orleans  and  the  control  of  the  lower  Mississippi  of  very  great 
importance  to  both  combatants.  Removing  the  guns  and  some 
of  the  stores  of  his  larger  ships,  Farragut  carried  his  fleet  over 
the  bar  with  the  exception  of  the  largest  vessel.  An  ineffectual 
bombardment  of  the  forts  by  a  mortar  flotilla  only  served  to 
increase  Farragut' s  determination.  Running  by  the  forts  with 
his  ships,  he  destroyed  a  Confederate  naval  force  which  had 
been  hastily  gathered  to  oppose  him,  and  proceeding  upwards 
anchored  off  New  Orleans.  The  city  was  defenceless  and  sur- 
rendered, and  the  forts  were  abandoned  soon  after  to  the 
soldiers  who  co-operated  with  Farragut  (April,  1862).  The 
control  of  the  lower  Mississippi  from  the  sea  to  Baton  Rouge 
was  now  in  the  hands  of  the  Union  government. 

The  battle  of  Mill  Spring  and  the  capture  of  Forts  Henry 
and  Donelson  compelled  the  Confederates  to 
Aprn*^°862  abandon  their  first  line  of  defence  and  fall  back 

to  their  second  line.  This  was  along  the  Mem- 
phis and  Charleston  Railroad,  which  connected  Memphis  on 
the  Mississippi  with  Chattanooga  and  Virginia  by  Knoxville,  and 
South  Carolina  and  Georgia  by  Atlanta.  This  railroad  follows 
the  valley  of  the  Tennessee  River  from  Florence  to  near  Chat- 
tanooga. Above  Florence  and  not  far  from  the  point  where  the 
river  first  runs  due  north  is  Pittsburg  Landing  near  the  little 


X.] 


The  War  in  the  West. 


273 


church  of  Shiloh.  About  one-third  of  the  distance  from  this 
point  to  the  Mississippi,  the  Mobile  and  Ohio  Railroad  running 
north  and  south  crosses  the  Memphis  and  Charleston — the 
town  at  their  crossing  bearing  the  classic  name  of  Corinth. 
The  important  points  in  thi^  defensive  line  were  Chattanooga, 
Decatur,  where  the  Memphis  and  Charleston  crosses  from  the 
southern  to  the  northern  bank  of  the  Tennessee,  Pittsburg 
Landing,  Corinth,  and  Memphis.  Grant,  proceeding  south- 
ward from  Fort  Henry,  ascended  the  Tennessee  as  far  as  Pitts- 
burg Landing  and  Shiloh,  and  there  encamped  until  Buell  should 
arrive  with  a  strong  reinforcement  which  Halleck,  who  then 
commanded  in  the  department,  had  despatched  from  Nashville. 
On  the  morning  of  the  day  on  which  Buell  arrived,  the  Con- 
federates under  General  Albert  Sidney  Johnston,  one  of  the 
ablest  soldiers  of  the  war,  suddenly  attacked  Grant's  army,  and 
drove  it  back  towards  the  landing-place.  Had  almost  any  other 
man  been  in  command,  there  would  have  been,  in  all  likelihood, 
a  terrible  disaster.  But  Grant  with  a  dogged  stubbornness 
held  on,  until  BuelPs  arrival  in  the  afternoon  changed  the 
whole  aspect  of  affairs.  The  next  day  Grant  attacked  in  his 
turn  and  forced  back  the  Confederates,  now  commanded  by 
Beauregard,  owing  to  the  death  of  Johnston  (April,  1862).  The 
two  armies  lost  nearly  twenty-three  thousand  men,  killed, 
wounded,  and  missing  in  this  sanguinary  battle.  Halleck  then 
assumed  command  in  the  field,  and  with  the  united  armies  of 
Grant,  Buell,  and  Pope  captured  Corinth  (May,  1862)  and 
Memphis  (June,  1862).  The  Mississippi  was  now  open  from 
Cairo  to  below  Memphis,  and  from  the  sea  to  above  New 
Orleans.  But  the  Confederate  batteries  on  the  bluffs  at  Vicks- 
burg  closed  the  river  to  commerce.  The  President,  who,  under 
the  Constitution,  was  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  forces 
of  the  United  States,  now  summoned  Halleck,  whose  strategic 
skill  was  supposed  to  have  secured  these  results,  to  Wash- 
ington, to  act  as  his  chief-of-staff. 

C.A.  18 


2/4 


The  War  for  the  Union, 


[Chap. 


Throughout  the  autumn  and  winter  (1861-62)  the  Con- 
Pian  of  the  federate  and  Union  armies  in  Virginia  had  con- 
Peninsuiar  fronted  each  other.  It  was  March,  1862,  before 
Campaign.  McClellan  could  be  induced  to  assume  the 
offensive.  He  had  then  about,  one  hundred  and  twenty 
thousand  men  to  one-half  that  number  of  Confederates  under 
Joseph  E.  Johnston.  Instead  of  attacking  him  where  he  was, 
McClellan  decided  to  transport  his  army  by  water  to  the  Penin- 
sula which  is  formed  by  the  York  and  James  Rivers,  and  to 
approach  Richmond  from  that  direction.  Several  things  made 
against  the  success  of  this  scheme  at  the  outseto  In  the 
first  place,  the  civil  authorities,  feeling  anxious  for  the  safety 
of  Washington,  demanded  that  an  adequate  force  should  be 
placed  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley  to  face  the  Confederate  army 
under  Jackson  in  that  region.  Jackson  on  his  part  acted  with 
so  much  vigour  that  he  not  merely  kept  this  army  in  employ- 
ment, but  so  alarmed  the  chieftains  at  Washington  that  they 
retained  near  the  Potomac  McDowell  and  his  corps  of  some 
forty  thousand  men  who  were  to  have  marched  overland  to 
reinforce  McClellan.  In  this  way,  Jackson  with  twenty-five 
thousand  men  diverted  some  seventy-five  thousand  from  the 
real  seat  of  war,  and,  when  the  time  came,  slipped  away  and 
joined  his  compatriots  in  front  of  Richmond.  McClellan  was 
disappointed  also  in  not  receiving  the  assistance  he  had 
expected  from  the  navy. 

In  point  of  fact,  what  with  the  blockade,  the  operations 
i\i^Mo7iitor  Mississippi,  and  the  contest  with  the 

and  the  Merri-  MerHniac,  the  uavy  had  at  this  time  about  all  it 
could  attend  to  without  succouring  McClellan' s 
overwhelming  force.  The  most  formidable  of  the  Confed- 
erate ironclads  was  the  Merrimac  or  the  Virginia  as  the 
Confederates  rechristened  her.  This  vessel  was  the  old 
American  frigate  Merrimac  which  had  been  set  on  fire 
and  sunk  on  the  abandonment  of  the  Norfolk  navy-yard  by 


X.]  The  Monitor  and  the  Merrimac.  275 


the  Union  forces.  The  Confederates  floated  the  vessel,  cut  her 
down,  and  built  on  her  deck  a  superstructure  of  five-inch 
wrought  iron  resembling  the  roof  of  a  house  with  the  eaves 
under  water.  On  March  8th,  1862,  this  strange  craft  steamed 
down  to  Hampton  Roads,  destroyed  the  United  States  frigates 
Cumberland  and  Congress^  and  began  the  destruction  of  the 
Minnesota,  The  next  day  she  again  appeared  to  complete 
the  demolition  of  the  Union  fleet.  But  during  the  night 
an  even  stranger  vessel  had  reached  Fortress  Monroe,  the 
Union  stronghold.  This  was  the  Monitor  designed  by  John 
Ericsson,  a  naturalized  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and 
built  under  his  supervision  in  one  hundred  days.  Her  ar- 
moured sides  rose  less  than  two  feet  above  the  water  and  on  her 
deck,  in  a  revolving  iron  turret,  were  two  very  large  smooth-bore 
guns.  The  little  ship  appeared  so  grotesque  in  the  eyes  of 
sailors  accustomed  to  the  tall  spars  and  graceful  lines  of  frigate- 
like the  Congress^  that  they  dubbed  her  *'a  cheese-box  on 
a  raft"  —  a  phrase  which  precisely  described  her  appearance. 
Steaming  alongside  the  huge  Merrimac^  the  two  armoured 
ships  fought  the  first  battle  of  its  kind  in  the  history  of  the 
world.  In  the  course  of  four  hours  they  threw  at  one  another 
enough  shot  to  have  sunk  the  whole  wooden  navy  of  the  United 
States.  Not  a  shot  penetrated  the  Monitor,  and  the  damage 
sustained  by  the  Merrimac  is  not  known.  The  latter  retired 
from  the  fight  and  never  renewed  it,  while  another  combat 
would  have  been  welcomed  by  the  crew  of  the  Monitor, 

McClellan's  plans  seem  to  have  become  known  to  the 
enemy  within  a  few  hours  of  their  formation. 
Johnston  immediately  retired  from  his  winter  lar^ampt^gn^"" 
camp  near  the  battle-field  of  Bull  Run,  and 
McClellan,  when  he  began  his  march  up  the  Peninsula,  found 
himself  stopped  by  a  long  line  of  entrenchments  extending 
from  Yorktown  across  the  Peninsula  to  a  branch  of  the  James. 
It  took  him  nearly  a  month  to  surmount  this  obstacle,  and  it 

1 8— 2 


276 


The  War  for  the  Union. 


[Chap. 


was  the  end  of  May  before  he  reached  the  vicinity  of  Richmond. 
On  May  31st  (1862)  a  severe  and  indecisive  battle  was  fought 
at  Fair  Oaks  about  ten  miles  from  Richmond.  A  month 
later  McClellan's  picket  line  extended  to  within  four  miles  of 
that  city.  Johnston  was  now  wounded,  and  Robert  E.  Lee 
became  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  Confederate  army. 
Summoning  Jackson  from  the  Valley,  he  struck  the  Union 
army  blow  after  blow  (June  26  —  July  2,  1862).  These  battles, 
known  as  the  Seven  Days,  resulted  in  the  withdrawal  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  from  the  front  of  Richmond  to  the  James 
below  City  Point.  There,  at  Malvern  Hill,  it  beat  off  a  last 
attack  with  fearful  damage  to  the  assailants.  The  total  loss 
in  these  engagements,  from  May  27th,  was  forty-four  thousand 
men,  nearly  equally  divided  between  the  two  combatants. 

General  Halleck  was  now  in  command  of  all  the  Northern 
forces,  with  headquarters  at  Washington.  Aware 
Campargn.  Hallcck's  limitations,  Lee  determined  to 

relieve  the  pressure  on  Richmond  by  making  a 
counter-demonstration  against  Washington.  All  the  labours 
of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  were  lost.  It  was  withdrawn  from 
the  James  and  sent  to  Acquia  Creek  to  reinforce  the  army  in 
front  of  Washington,  now  led  by  General  Pope,  the  conqueror 
of  Island  No.  10.  Lee  on  his  interior  lines  reached  Pope  before 
McClellan's  troops  could  be  placed  firmly  in  the  former's  grasp. 
Jackson,  by  one  of  his  extraordinary  marches,  placed  his  corps 
on  Pope's  line  of  communication,  and  induced  that  astonished 
commander,  who  had  begun  the  campaign  by  exhorting  his 
soldiers  to  think  no  more  of  lines  of  retreat,  to  retire  in  some 
confusion.  This  enabled  Lee  to  rejoin  Jackson,  to  win  the 
second  battle  of  Bull  Run  (Aug.  29-30,  1862),  and  to  force 
Pope  back  to  the  defences  of  Washington. 

Lee  then  crossed  the  Potomac  near  Harper's  Ferry  to  release 
Maryland  from  the  "  invader, "  and  to  add  that  State  to  the  ranks 
of  secession.    McClellan  was  restored  to  command,  and  the 


X.]  Antietam  and  Fredericksburg,  277 


two  armies  fought  a  bloody  battle  on  the  banks  of  the  Antietam 
(Sept.  17,  1862).    The  Union  force  was  double 
that  of  the  Confederates.    But  according  to  some  sept^isea"™' 
military  critics,  McClellan  frittered  away  his 
opportunities  in  a  series  of  sharp  assaults.    The  next  day  Lee 
retired.    The  loss  of  the  two  armies  in  this  battle  was  about 
twenty-two  thousand,  more  than  twelve  thousand  being  on  the 
Union  side.    McClellan,  pursuing  slowly,  was  relieved,  and 
the  command  given  to  General  Burnside. 

Lee,  retreating  southward  to  place  himself  between  the  two 
capitals,  fortified  Marye's  Heights  which  rose  The  ♦♦Horror 
just  behind  Fredericksburg  on  the  Rappahan-  of  Fredericks- 
nock.  Instead  of  manoeuvring  Lee  out  of  this 
very  strong  position,  Burnside  attacked  it  in  front.  It  was  diffi- 
cult to  cross  the  river  within  range  of  riflefnen  posted  in  the 
houses  of  Fredericksburg,  and  the  furious  assaults  of  the  federal 
troops  on  the  entrenched  line  above  the  town  were  repulsed  with 
great  loss  to  the  attacking  parties.  The  "  Horror  of  Fredericks- 
burg" (December  13,  1862)  cost  the  Union  army  thirteen 
thousand  men  to  only  four  thousand  of  the  enemy,  without  any 
advantage  being  gained.  Ere  long,  Burnside  gave  over  the 
command  to  "  Fighting  Joe  "  Hooker,  and  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac,  worn  down  by  fighting  and  with  its  discipline  much 
impaired,  went  into  winter-quarters  at  Falmouth  opposite 
Fredericksburg. 

Not  long  after  the  beginning  of  the  conflict  (May  26,  1861), 
General  B.  F.  Butler,  commanding  at  Fortress  ^ 

'  o  The  Emanci- 

Monroe,  had  refused  to  deliver  up  slaves  who  had  pation  Procia- 
escaped  into  his  lines  —  they  having  been  de- 
manded  by  their  owner,  a  Confederate  soldier,  under  the  pro- 
visions of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Act.  Butler  declared  that  their 
labour  would  be  useful  to  the  enemy,  and  that  he  retained  them 
as  "  contraband  of  war  " ;  and  the  name  contraband  clung  to  the 
slaves  for  the  greater  part  of  the  war.    Other  commanders 


2/8 


The  War  for  the  Union. 


[Chap. 


went  so  far  as  to  declare  the  slaves  in  their  departments  free. 
But  this  was  going  farther  than  Mr  Lincoln  then  deemed 
prudent,  and  they  were  overruled.  By  the  summer  of  1862, 
the  President's  scruples  seem  to  have  been  overcome  by  the 
logic  of  the  situation.  "  My  object, "  he  wrote,  "  is  to  save  the 
Union,  and  not  either  to  save  or  destroy  slavery.  If  I  could 
save  the  Union  without  freeing  any  slave  I  would  do  it;  if  I 
could  save  it  by  freeing  all  the  slaves,  I  would  do  it.'*  He  soon 
became  convinced  that  to  emancipate  the  slaves  would  be 
a  useful  and  justifiable  means  of  distressing  the  enemy  and 
arousing  sympathy  for  the  Union  cause  abroad,  as  well  as 
satisfying  the  demands  of  an  influential  body  of  his  own 
supporters.  Accordingly,  after  the  collapse  of  Lee's  invasion 
of  Maryland,  he  issued  a  Proclamation  (Sept.  22,  1862),  stating 
that  on  the  first  day  of  the  new  year  (1863)  he  would  declare 
free  all  slaves  in  any  portion  of  the  country  which  should  then 
be  in  rebellion  against  the  United  States;  and  on  January  i, 
1863,  he  issued  the  Emancipation  Proclamation.  This  of 
course  had  effect  only  in  such  parts  of  the  seceded  States  as 
were  then  or  afterwards  in  the  hands  of  the  Union  army.  But 
it  encouraged  the  active  supporters  of  the  war  in  the  North, 
and  did  much  to  secure  the  sympathy  of  many  English  men 
and  women.  The  Proclamation  did  not  extend  to  the  slave 
States  which  had  not  seceded.  One  of  them,  Maryland,  adopted 
in  1864  a  constitution  without  slavery  —  on  the  very  day  that 
Roger  B.  Taney,  a  citizen  of  that  State  and  the  author  of 
the  Dred  Scott  decision,  died.  The  final  blow  was  given  to 
slavery  throughout  the  country  by  the  adoption  in  1865 
of  the  Thirteenth  Amendment  to  the  Constitution,^  pro- 
hibiting slavery  in  any  part  of  the  United  States. 

When  Halleck  left  the  West  to  assume  the  direction  of  the 
war  at  Washington,  the  fine  army  which  he  had  led  to  Corinth 
was  divided  among  three  commanders.  Grant,  Rosecrans,  and 
1  See  Appendix  V. 


X.]  The  Emancipation  Proclamation,  279 


Buell.  The  two  first  named  were  to  complete  the  conquest 
of  the  country  bordering  on  the  Mississippi, 
and  Buell  was  ordered  to  seize  Chattanooga  fo^Tennesfee^ 
and  drive  the  Confederates  from  eastern  Ten- 
nessee. Meantime,  the  vigour  and  foresight  of  the  Confed- 
erate General,  Braxton  Bragg,  had  changed  the  face  of  the  war. 
Placing  thirty  thousand  men  on  the  railway  cars,  he  carried 
them  to  Mobile  and  thence  to  Chattanooga.  He  thus  reached 
that  field  of  action  earlier  than  Buell,  who  was  seriously  ham- 
pered by  instructions  from  the  far-off  Halleck.  Bragg  next 
eluded  Buell,  and  marched  to  the  vicinity  of  Louisville  on  the 
Ohio  before  he  could  be  brought  to  action.  But  at  Perryville 
(Oct.  8,  1862)  the  two  armies  fought  a  stubborn  battle  in 
which  either  side  lost  about  five  thousand  men.  Bragg, 
however,  was  forced  to  return  to  Chattanooga.  Buell,  on  his 
part,  halted  at  Nashville,  where  he  was  relieved  by  Rosecrans. 

In  November,  Bragg  again  moved  northward  and  advanced 
as  far  as  Murfreesboro',  on  the  road  to  Nashville. 
On  December  30th,  Rosecrans  moved  out  of  Murfreesboro'. 
Nashville  with  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  and 
advanced  southward  to  gain  Chattanooga.  The  two  armies 
met  at  Stone  River  near  Murfreesboro'  on  the  last  day  of  the 
year  (Dec.  31,  1862).  Again  and  again  Bragg  hurled  his 
splendid  army  against  the  Union  position.  The  centre  under 
Thomas  and  Sheridan  stood  firm  and  repelled  every  attack.  The 
next  day  the  two  combatants  faced  one  another,  and  on  Jan.  2 
(1863),  Bragg  retired  from  the  field.  In  this  terrible  conflict 
the  two  armies  lost  some  twenty-two  thousand  men  out  of 
ninety  thousand  engaged.  Rosecrans  remained  in  and  near 
Murfreesboro'  for  nearly  six  months  until  June,  1863.  We 
must  now  return  to  the  Mississippi. 

When  Bragg  moved  northwards  in  the  summer  of  1862,  he 
had  ordered  Price  and  Van  Dorn  to  attack  the  Union  forces 
and  prevent  reinforcements  being  sent  to  Buell.    The  carrying 


28o 


The  War  for  the  Union, 


[Chap. 


out  of  these  orders  brought  on  the  battles  of  luka  (Sept.  19, 
TheVicks-       1862)  and  Corinth  (Oct.  3,  4,  1862).  Soon 
burg  Cam-         after,  Rosecrans  left  for  the  Cumberland,  and 
paign.  Grant  exercised  sole  command  in  Mississippi. 

The  eastern  bank  of  the  river  of  that  name  is  marked  by  a 
succession  of  high  bluffs  which  in  some  places  border  the 
stream  and  in  others  retire  to  a  distance  from  it.  At  Memphis, 
for  example,  the  bluffs  leave  the  river's  bank  and  retire  far 
inland,  again  approaching  the  river  at  Vicksburg.  The  inter- 
vening space  is  occupied  by  a  morass,  through  which  the 
Yazoo  sluggishly  meanders,  emptying  into  the  Mississippi 
a  little  to  the  north  of  Vicksburg.  That  place  had  by  this 
time  become  a  formidable  stronghold,  unassailable  from  the 
river.  The  gun-boats  were  useless,  as  the  fortress  was  so 
high  above  the  stream  that  the  guns  of  the  ironclads  could 
scarcely  reach  the  top,  while  the  vessels  were  exposed  to  a  very 
destructive  cannonade.  Farragut  had  run  by  this  citadel  four 
times,  but  had  been  able  to  do  little  towards  its  capture.  Grant 
now  took  the  matter  in  hand.  The  best  plan  would  have  been 
to  advance  southward  from  Corinth  and  to  approach  Vicksburg 
from  the  north  and  east.  Unfortunately,  Grant  was  not  given 
a  free  hand.  The  machinations  of  the  "political  generals  "  and 
the  politicians  demanded  an  advance  down  the  Mississippi. 
Dividing  his  force  into  two  parts,  he  sent  Sherman  with  one 
portion  down  the  Mississippi  to  assail  Vicksburg  from  that 
direction,  and  with  the  remainder  of  the  army  he  marched 
southward  to  prevent  Pemberton,  the  new  Confederate  com- 
mander in  that  quarter,  from  opposing  Sherman.  A  sudden 
raid  by  the  Confederates  destroyed  his  stores  at  Holly  Springs 
(Dec.  1862)  and  he  was  obliged  to  fall  back.  Pemberton  was 
thus  free  to  turn  on  Sherman,  and  the  latter  was  repulsed  with 
heavy  loss  in  an  attack  on  Haines'  Bluff  a  few  miles  north-east 
of  Vicksburg  (Dec.  29,  1862).  As  an  offset  to  this  failure, 
Sherman  and  Porter,  acting  under  the  nominal  command  of 


X.] 


Vicksburg. 


McClernand,  captured  Arkansas  Post  (Jan.  ii,  1863),  a  strong 
position  on  the  Arkansas  River,  the  garrison  of  which  might 
have  seriously  threatened  Grant  in  his  later  campaign.  Grant 
now  transferred  his  whole  command  to  the  Mississippi  above 
Vicksburg  and  tried  plan  after  plan  without  success.  Finally, 
passing  by  Vicksburg  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi, 
he  crossed  the  river  below  the  town,  gained  the  rear,  and, 
after  a  sharp  action  or  two  (April  and  May,  1863),  drove 
Pemberton's  forces  into  the  fortifications  and  besieged  them 
there,  his  right  resting  on  the  river  north  of  the  town  and  near 
the  scene  of  Sherman's  recent  failure.  Meantime,  General 
Joseph  E.  Johnston,  recovered  from  his  wound,  had  been  placed 
in  command  of  the  Confederate  forces  in  Mississippi.  He  had 
ordered  Pemberton  to  save  his  army  while  an  opening  still 
remained.  But  Pemberton  had  refused  to  obey  Johnston's 
command.  Consequently,  all  the  latter  could  do  was  to 
threaten  the  rear  of  the  besieging  army.  To  meet  this  danger, 
Grant  detailed  Sherman  with  thirty  thousand  men  ;  but  beyond 
causing  the  federal  commanders  some  anxiety  and  diverting 
Sherman's  corps  from  the  direct  work  of  the  siege,  Johnston 
accomplished  nothing.  The  siege  went  on,  and  after  repelling 
several  assaults,  the  garrison  of  Vicksburg,  thirty  thousand 
strong,  surrendered  to  the  Union  army  on  the  4th  of  July,  1863. 
A  few  weeks  later  the  other  Confederate  strongholds  on  the 
great  river  fell  into  Union  hands,  and  the  Mississippi,  in 
Lincoln's  words,  "  flowed  unvexed  to  the  sea. "  The  day  before 
the  fall  of  Vicksburg  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  had  repelled 
the  last  attack  of  Lee's  army  on  the  lines  at  Gettysburg. 

General  Hooker,  the  new  commander  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac,  was  at  once  a  popular  officer  and 
a  strict  disciplinarian.    Under  his  care  the  viiie.^"^^"°'^" 
army  soon  recovered  its  morale,  and  on  April 
30th,  1863,  resumed  its  arduous  task.    Leaving  Sedgwick  with 
one  corps  to  seize  Marye's  Heights,  if  occasion  should  offer, 


282 


The  War  for  the  Union, 


[Chap. 


Hooker  turned  Lee's  left  flank  and  placed  his  main  army, 
about  eighty  thousand  strong,  across  the  Rappahannock  in 
and  around  Chancellorsville  and  then  stopped.  Lee,  leaving  a 
small  force  to  confront  Sedgwick,  divided  the  remainder  of  his 
army  —  about  one-half  the  size  of  Hooker's  ^ — into  two  parts. 
With  one  portion  Jackson  made  a  rapid  march  across  the 
front  of  the  Union  army,  surprised  Hooker's  right  and  all  but 
routed  it.  This  was  Jackson's  last  fight,  as  he  was  accidentally 
shot  by  his  own  men,  while  returning  from  a  reconnoissance. 
Redoubling  his  attacks,  the  next  day  Lee  forced  Hooker  back 
to  the  river.  Then  turning  on  Sedgwick,  who  had  meantime 
captured  Marye's  Heights,  he  drove  him  across  the  river.  In 
these  four  days  (May  2-5,  1863)  the  Union  army  had  lost 
seventeen  thousand  men  to  thirteen  thousand  of  the  Con- 
federates; and  Lee,  with  an  army  of  fifty-eight  thousand  men, 
had  inflicted  a  crushing  defeat  on  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  strong,  and  the  Con- 
federates still  occupied  Marye's  Heights. 

Lee,  however,  was  not  the  man  to  remain  quiet  in  his  lines. 

Again  assuming  the  offensive,  he  led  his  army 
p^n^sywanfa.  through  the  Valley  and,  crossing  the  Potomac, 
invaded  Pennsylvania.  The  Army  of  the  Poto- 
mac followed,  and  on  June  28th  received  a  new  commander. 
General  George  G.  Meade,  a  quiet  business-like  man,  but  a 
safe  and  thorough  soldier. 

The  advance  of  this  army  in  his  rear  forced  Lee  to  turn 
back,  and,  in  a  race  for  the  roads  leading 
southward,  the  foremost  divisions  of  the  two 
armies  encountered  each  other  near  the  little 
village  of  Gettysburg  (July  ist,  1863).    The  Union  soldiers 
were  driven  back  through  the  town,  and  found  themselves  on 
a  crest  called  Cemetery  Ridge.    This  position  offered  such 
advantages  to  the  defenders  that  Meade  determined  to  fight 
a  general  battle  at  that  point.    The  ridge  occupied  by  the 


X.] 


Gettysburg. 


283 


Union  army  at  Gettysburg  has  been  well  described  as  in 
the  form  of  a  gigantic  fish-hook.  Gulp's  Hill  on  the  extreme 
point  formed  the  right  of  the  Union  position,  and  the  hills 
called  the  Round  Tops,  at  the  end  of  the  shank,  guarded  its 
left.  The  Gonf  ederates  drew  up  their  forces  on  Seminary  Ridge, 
opposite  and  parallel  to  Cemetery  Ridge,  their  left  extending 
through  the  town  to  the  front  of  Gulp's  Hill,  around  whose  base 
ran  a  little  stream.  On  July  2nd  the  Confederates  drove  back 
a  body  of  troops  which  had  been  wrongly  advanced  beyond  the 
left  of  the  Union  line;  they  also  effected  a  lodgment  on  the 
slope  of  Gulp's  Hill.  From  this  latter  position  they  were 
driven  on  the  morning  of  the  3rd,  and  all  attempts  on  their 
part  to  gain  more  ground  on  the  Union  left  failed  completely. 
Lee  then  essayed  to  break  the  Union  centre.  Led  on  by  the 
gallant  Pickett,  fifteen  thousand  Confederate  soldiers  charged 
the  Union  line,  to  be  hurled  back  with  fearful  slaughter. 
That  ended  the  battle,  and  soon  after  Lee  retreated  across 
the  Potomac.  In  this  momentous  conflict,  the  Union  army 
numbered  eighty  thousand  men  and  lost  twenty-three  thousand; 
the  Confederate  force  amounted  to  seventy  thousand  and  lost 
twenty-five  thousand.  Gettysburg  and  Vicksburg  decided  the 
war.  The  North  had  shown  its  power  to  repel  invasion  and 
had  cut  the  Confederacy  in  twain. 

After  the  battle  of  Stone  River,  Rosecrans  rested  his  army 
for  nearly  six  months,  from  January  to  June,  chickamauga 
1863.  The  authorities  at  Washington  then  in-  andChat- 
duced  him  to  move,  and  he  began  anew  his 
attempt  to  manoeuvre  Bragg  out  of  Chattanooga.  In  this  he 
succeeded.  By  this  time,  however,  the  campaign  had  been 
fought  in  the  East  and  Lee  found  himself  able  to  send  Long- 
street  with  his  corps  to  Bragg' s  assistance.  The  Union  forces 
in  the  West  were  at  the  same  time  increased  by  the  arrival 
of  Burnside,  with  a  new  Army  of  the  Ohio,  who  occupied 
Knoxville.    Feinting,  as  if  to  join  Burnside,  Rosecrans  crossed 


284 


The  War  for  the  Union. 


[Chap. 


the  Tennessee  below  Chattanooga,  and  obliged  Bragg  to 
abandon  that  town.  Before  Rosecrans  could  get  his  whole 
army  in  hand  again,  Bragg  attacked  him  near  Chickamauga 
Creek  (Sept.  19  and  20,  1863),  and  had  not  Thomas,  who 
commanded  the  Union  centre,  stood  firm,  the  Union  army 
would  have  suffered  a  terrible  defeat.  Soon  afterwards  Thomas 
succeeded  Rosecrans  in  the  command  of  the  Army  of  the 
Cumberland  and  was  blockaded  by  Bragg  in  Chattanooga. 
Longstreet,  on  his  part,  besieged  Burnside  at  Knoxville.  It 
seemed  probable  that  both  Union  armies  would  be  starved 
into  surrender,  or  at  least  into  leaving  their  positions.  It  was 
at  this  time  that  Grant  assumed  command  of  all  the  armies 
from  Knoxville  to  Vicksburg.  Hooker,  with  reinforcements 
from  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  had  already  reached  Chat- 
tanooga, and  Grant  brought  Sherman's  corps  with  him. 
Throwing  Hooker's  corps  at  Bragg' s  left.  Grant  confided  to 
Sherman  the  task  of  destroying  Bragg' s  right  flank,  while 
he  himself  with  Thomas  and  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland 
pressed  the  Confederates  in  front.  Sherman,  at  his  end  of  the 
line,  was  brought  to  a  standstill  by  an  unsuspected  ravine 
which  suddenly  opened  across  his  path  —  but  not  until  he  had 
dealt  the  Confederate  right  a  severe  blow.  Hooker  carried 
his  corps  up  the  sides  of  Lookout  Mountain,  fought  a  romantic 
Battle  above  the  Clouds,"  and  then  gained  a  position  on 
Bragg' s  left  and  rear.  Thomas  now  attacked  the  main  position 
in  front.  His  attack  was  not  intended  to  be  a  serious  affair 
but  merely  to  occupy  the  attention  of  the  main  body  of  the 
Confederates  while  Sherman  and  Hooker  gained  their  flanks 
and  rear.  But  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  as  if  jealous 
of  the  confidence  reposed  in  the  new-comers,  without  orders, 
and  against  orders,  carried  the  first  line  of  the  Confederate 
entrenchments,  pressed  on  with  the  flying  enemy,  pursued 
them  up  the  slope  of  Missionary  Ridge,  rushed  over  the 
entrenchments,  and  broke  the  centre  of  the  Confederate  army. 


X.]  Chattanooga,  285 

Bragg  retreated  in  haste  toward  Atlanta.  These  three  battles 
are  conveniently  known  as  the  Battle  of  Chattanooga  (Nov. 
23-25,  1863).  Sherman  at  once  went  to  the  relief  of  Burnside, 
and  on  his  approach  Longstreet  retired  to  Virginia.  Vicksburg 
and  Chattanooga  made  Grant  the  foremost  soldier  in  the  Union 
army.  Furthermore,  he  had  won  the  confidence  of  the  people 
of  the  North.  On  March  loth,  1864,  he  was  placed  in  com- 
mand of  all  the  armies.  For  the  remainder  of  the  war,  the 
several  Union  armies  acted  in  concert.  Grant  conducted  the 
Virginia  campaigns  in  person,  and  confided  the  control  of 
the  armies  operating  from  Chattanooga  to  his  able  and  trusted 
lieutenant,  William  T.  Sherman.  It  will  be  convenient  to 
follow  the  movements  of  these  latter  armies  first. 

General  Sherman  had  about  one  hundred  thousand  men, 
for  the  most  part  inured  to  war,  commanded 
by  able  chiefs,  Thomas,  McPherson,  Schofield,  johntton  "  ^""^ 
Ord,  Sheridan,  and  Hooker,  and  united  by  a 
feeling  of  confidence  in  one  another  from  the  commanding 
general  down  to  the  drummer  boy.  Opposed  to  this  splendid 
force  were  some  seventy-five  thousand  veterans  led  by  General 
Joseph  E.  Johnston,  a  general  second  only  to  Lee  in  ability 
among  the  living  Confederate  officers.  The  Confederate 
government,  however,  did  not  place  the  fullest  confidence  in 
Johnston,  and  his  subordinates  did  not  always  support  him 
as  they  should  have  done.  The  country  between  Chattanooga 
and  Atlanta  is  very  broken  and  rugged,  offering  an  admirable 
defensive  position  every  few  miles  of  the  way. 

The  Atlanta  campaign  is  most  interesting  from  the  strate- 
gical point  of  view.     Instead  of  attacking 
Johnston  in  front,  Sherman  only  threatened  to  c^p^gn^"^* 
do  so,  at  the  same  time  passing  strong  bodies 
of  troops  around  his  right  or  left  flank.    As  soon  as  this 
movement  became  serious,  Johnston  would  retire  to  a  new 
set  of  entrenchments  which  had  been  constructed  by  negro 


286 


The  War  for  the  Union. 


[Chap. 


slaves  a  few  miles  in  the  rear.  There  was  but  one  serious 
assault  during  the  whole  campaign  from  the  Tennessee  to  the 
Chattahoochee,  about  one  hundred  miles  in  a  straight  line, 
bat  the  fighting  was  almost  continuous  (May  7 — July  9,  1864). 
The  Union  loss  was  about  sixteen  thousand  to  thirteen  thousand 
for  the  Confederates.  Soon  the  Chattahoochee,  the  last  natural 
obstacle  in  the  way,  was  passed  and  the  Confederate  army  alone 
remained  between  Sherman  and  the  most  important  military 
factories  in  the  South.  Many  of  these  had  been  constructed 
since  the  beginning  of  the  war,  and  others  had  been  adapted 
from  other  uses  to  those  of  war.  The  loss  of  Atlanta  would 
be  an  irreparable  blow  to  the  South.  Johnston  was  now  re- 
moved from  the  command  of  the  defence,  and  Hood,  one  of 
his  subordinates,  was  put  in  his  place.  It  was  believed  that 
Hood  would  fight,  and  in  this  expectation  the  Confederate 
government  was  fully  justified.  On  July  19,  he  attacked  the 
Union  army  as  it  was  changing  its  position,  and  was  repulsed 
with  a  loss  of  five  thousand  to  two  thousand  for  Sherman. 
Regardless  of  this  attack,  the  latter  general  continued  *  the 
movement  of  his  army,  and  Hood  again  attacked  (July  22) 
and  was  again  repelled.  Unable  to  seize  Atlanta  from  the 
south-east,  Sherman  passed  his  army  around  to  the  west  and 
south.  While  this  new  movement  was  in  progress.  Hood 
attacked  Sherman  with  great  fury  on  July  28,  and  again  on 
September  ist.  Repelled,  with  great  loss.  Hood  on  September 
2nd  retired  from  Atlanta  to  save  his  army,  and  marching  west- 
ward and  then  northward,  endeavoured  to  make  Sherman  aban- 
don Atlanta  by  attacking  his  communications  with  the  North. 
The  latter  general  now  surprised  Hood  by  sending  back  Thomas 
and  Schofield  with  some  fifty  thousand  men,  including  the  gar- 
risons on  the  lines  of  communication  as  far  as  Nashville,  while 
with  another  sixty  thousand  men,  stripped  of  all  impedimenta, 
and  hardened  to  marching  and  fighting,  he  left  Atlanta  —  after 
destroying  the  mills  and  factories — and  set  out  for  the  sea-coast. 


X.] 


Atlanta  and  Nashville. 


287 


At  first  sight  this  plan  of  the  March  to  the  Sea,"  which 
had  been  long  in  Sherman's  mind,  seemed 
likely  to  end  in  disaster.  But  neither  Sher-  c^paign. 
man,  who  proposed  the  scheme,  nor  Grant, 
who  sanctioned  its  being  carried  into  effect,  were  men  to 
engage  in  foolhardy  enterprises.  Of  the  importance  of  the 
movement  there  could  be  little  question.  The  Union  com- 
manders believed  the  Confederacy  to  be  on  the  point  of  col- 
lapse from  sheer  exhaustion.  The  spectacle  of  sixty  thousand 
men  marching  hither  and  yon  through  the  heart  of  the  Con- 
federacy would  raise  the  spirits  of  the  Unionists  and  depress 
those  of  the  Confederates.  It  might  also  have  an  important 
effect  on  European  opinion.  A  further  march  from  the  coast 
northward  would  necessitate  the  evacuation  of  the  sea-ports 
then  remaining  in  the  hands  of  the  Confederates,  and  would 
place  Sherman  and  his  army  within  supporting  distance  of 
Grant  and  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  Nor  did  the  risk  seem 
great.  Sherman  believed  that  he  would  be  superior  to  any 
force  in  the  Confederacy  except  the  armies  commanded  by 
Lee  and  Hood.  The  serious  questions  to  be  considered  were 
the  ability  of  Thomas  to  crush  Hood,  and  of  Grant  to  prevent 
Lee  from  sending  reinforcements  to  either  Hood  or  any  force 
which  might  gather  on  Sherman's  path.  Grant  had  abundant 
force  and  will  to  keep  Lee  fully  employed.  As  to  Thomas, 
there  was  more  doubt.  The  movement,  however,  might  seri- 
ously impair  the  fighting  strength  of  the  Confederates,  and 
Grant  consented  to  it. 

Thomas  carried  out  the  task  intrusted  to  him  in  his  usual 
quiet  and  thorough  way.    Retiring  to  Nashville,  Thomas's 
the  better  to  rally  to  his  aid  the  different  bodies    Victory  at 
of  troops  scattered  throughout  Tennessee  and  to  n^^^^*^^®- 
receive  recruits  from  the  North,  Thomas  refused  to  be  hurried 
into  action.    He  would  cheerfully  hand  over  the  command  to 
another,  but  he  would  not  give  battle  until  he  was  ready.  At 


288 


The  War  for  the  Union. 


[Chap. 


length  on  December  15  th,  1864,  Thomas  left  his  entrenchments 
and  attacked  Hood.  In  the  course  of  that  day  and  the  next 
he  not  merely  routed  the  Confederates,  but  destroyed  Hood's 
army  as  a  military -organization. 

Meantime  Sherman  was  gaily    marching  through  Georgia  " 

—  cutting  a  swathe  sixty  miles  wide  as  he  went. 
to'^thV  Sea.^'^^     When  they  came  across  a  railroad  the  soldiers, 

many  of  whom  were  railroad  builders,  became 
railroad  destroyers,  and  they  did  their  work  so  thoroughly  that 
the  gaps  they  cut  in  the  railroad  system  of  the  South  could  not 
be  repaired  during  the  war.  The  army  lived  on  the  country 
and  lived  well  —  but  in  other  respects  private  property  was  not 
destroyed.  On  December  loth,  Sherman  opened  communi- 
cations with  the  squadron  blockading  Savannah,  and  ten  days 
later  entered  that  city,  which  was  evacuated  by  the  enemy. 
Resting  his  men  for  about  a  month,  Sherman  set  out  before  he 
was  expected  to  start  and  thus  gained  a  position  in  front  of  the 
troops  who  should  have  opposed  his  march.  Directing  his 
course  inland,  he  made  the  evacuation  of  Charleston  necessary, 
and  reached  Columbia,  the  capital  of  the  State  of  South 
Carolina,  on  February  17th,  1865.  Lee,  now  that  the  danger 
was  so  great,  took  the  responsibility  of  appointing  Joseph 
E.  Johnston  to  command  whatever  troops  could  be  gathered 
to  oppose  Sherman.  The  march  now  became  more  difficult 
and  vastly  more  dangerous  the  nearer  Sherman  approached 
Lee's  army.  The  rivers,  swollen  with  the  winter's  rains,  de- 
tained Sherman.  Johnston  exerted  all  his  energy  and  talent. 
At  Bentonville,  in  North  Carolina,  he  attacked  the  head  of 
Sherman's  army,  and  for  a  time  it  seemed  as  if  there  would  be 
a  disaster.  In  the  end  Johnston  was  beaten  off  with  heavy 
loss,  and  Sherman  reached  Goldsboro'  in  safety.  There  he  was 
joined  by  Terry  and  his  corps,  who  had  recently  captured  Wil- 
mington, the  last  refuge  of  the  blockade-runners.  There,  also, 
Schofield  joined  him  with  a  portion  of  the  army  with  which 


X.] 


Grant  and  Lee. 


289 


Thomas  had  beaten  Hood.  Sherman  was  now  (March  21st, 
1865)  superior  to  Johnston's  forces  or  to  any  army  which  could 
be  brought  against  him.  He  held  fast  to  Johnston,  while  Grant 
completed  the  ruin  of  Lee's  army. 

On  May  3rd,  1864,  the  day  that  Sherman  left  Chattanooga, 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac  under  Grant,  with  The  wilder 
Meade  in  immediate  command,  crossed  the  ness  to  Coid 
Rapidan  southward  for  the  last  time.  The 
Union  force  amounted  to  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand 
men,  while  Lee  had  sixty-two  thousand.  Two  days  later, 
while  passing  through  the  Wilderness,  the  opposing  armies 
came  together  not  far  from  the  fatal  field  of  Chancellorsville. 
For  four  days  (May  5-9,  1864)  a  terrible  contest  went  on; 
and,  then.  Grant,  unable  to  push  Lee  back,  moved  to  the  left 
and  gained  Spottsylvania  Court  House.  There  another  fearful 
conflict  ensued  (May  10-12)  and  with  the  same  result  as 
before.  Again  by  the  left.  Grant  directed  his  army  and  came 
upon  Lee  in  an  unassailable  position  on  the  North  Anna  — 
a  branch  of  the  Pamunkey  River.  Another  flank  march 
brought  the  Union  soldiers  to  Cold  Harbor,  about  thirteen 
miles  from  Richmond,  and  to  the  battle  ground  of  McClellan's 
Peninsular  campaign.  There  again  Lee  confronted  them. 
Grant  hurled  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  at  Lee's  veterans  and  it 
was  repulsed  with  awful  loss.  For  nearly  two  weeks  (May  31 
— June  12,  1864)  there  was  continuous  fighting  at  this  point, 
when  Grant,  changing  his  base,  transferred  his  army  by  the 
left  to  Petersburg  about  twenty  miles  south  of  Richmond. 
Lee  again  anticipated  him,  and  Grant  began  the  siege  or 
blockade  of  Petersburg,  which  continued  through  the  autumn 
and  winter  and  into  the  spring  of  1865.  In  these  battles 
from  the  Rapidan  to  the  James,  Grant  suffered  a  loss  of  sixty 
thousand  men  without  inflicting  proportionate  injury  on  Lee. 
But  Grant's  losses  could  be  and  were  made  good,  while 
every  Confederate  killed  or  captured  was  an  irreparable 
C.  A.  19 


290 


The  War  for  the  Union. 


[Chap. 


loss  to  Lee.  Grant  refused  to  allow  any  more  exchanges  of 
prisoners,  declaring  that  a  man  who  died  in  the  Confederate 
prisons  died  for  the  cause  of  the  Union  equally  with  the  man 
who  died  on  the  field  of  battle.  During  the  winter  Grant  tried 
to  get  around  both  to  the  right  and  to  the  left  of  Lee,  but 
accomplished  little  except  the  destruction  of  one  of  the  two 
railroads  over  which  Lee's  scanty  supplies  must  come,  and  the 
extension  of  the  Union  left  necessitated  the  extension  of  the 
Confederate  right  until  the  defensive  works  stretched  in  a  long 
line  of  thirty-seven  miles. 

Lee  endeavoured  to  secure  Grant's  withdrawal  by  a  raid 
Sheridan's  against  the  Union  capital.  Led  by  Jubal  Early, 
Valley  Cam-  a  body  of  Confederate  troops  marched  down 
the  Shenandoah  Valley,  crossed  the  Potomac, 
and  reached  the  defences  of  Washington.  But  the  clerks  in 
the  departments  and  a  few  hastily  summoned  troops  detained 
Early  long  enough  to  enable  two  army  corps  to  reach  the  city 
by  water  from  the  James.  Early  then  retreated  to  the  Valley. 
Without  letting  go  his  hold  on  Petersburg,  Grant  detached 
Sheridan  with  an  army  of  forty  thousand  men  —  including  ten 
thousand  cavalry  —  to  destroy  Early's  force,  if  possible,  and  to 
devastate  the  Valley  so  that  another  Confederate  army  could 
not  march  through  it.  Then  ensued  a  series  of  marchings 
and  counter-marchings,  to  which  the  topography  of  the  Valley 
was  most  favourable.  The  alternate  advance  and  retreat  of 
the  Confederates  depended  mainly  upon  the  number  of  men 
Lee  could  send  to  Early  or  might.be  obliged  to  withdraw 
from  him.  Ultimately,  Sheridan  over-mastered  Early,  and, 
having  devastated  the  Valley,  returned  to  the  main  army 
(Nov.  1864). 

In  the  autumn  of  this  year  the  people  of  the  North  by  re- 
Lincoin  electing  Lincoln,  decided,  that  the  war  should 

re-elected  go  on.    Johu  C.  Fremont  was  the  first  candidate 

President.  nominated  for  the  presidency.    The  nomi- 


X.] 


The  Last  Campaigns. 


291 


nation  was  made  by  a  radical  group^  which  demanded  a  more 
vigorous  prosecution  of  the  war.  The  Democrats  nominated 
General  McClellan  on  a  platform  which  declared  that  the  war 
was  a  failure.  McClellan  somewhat  damped  the  ardour  of 
his  supporters  by  declaring  in  his  letter  of  acceptance  that  the 
war  had  been  successfully  prosecuted.  Fremont  retired  in 
favour  of  Lincoln,  who  was  re-elected  by  a  popular  majority 
of  nearly  half  a  million,  receiving  two  hundred  and  twelve 
electoral  votes  to  twenty-one  given  to  McClellan.  Preparations 
for  bringing  the  conflict  to  a  close  were  now  pushed  forward 
with  great  vigour,  and  the  Union  army  increased  in  size  every 
month  until  May  1865,  when  over  one  million  men  were  on 
the  Northern  muster  rolls.  No  such  increase  in  numbers  was 
possible  for  the  South.  Even  the  losses  could  not  be  made 
good.  The  only  hope  remaining  was  for  Lee  and  Johnston 
to  escape  to  the  mountains,  and  there  to  maintain  a  partisan 
warfare. 

In  the  spring,  even  before  the  roads  became  really  passable, 
Grant  was  up  and  doing.  He  had  one  hundred  surrender 
and  twenty-five  thousand  men  to  Lee's  fifty  at  Appomattox 
thousand.  He  again  extended  his  line  to  the  House, 
left,  and  Sheridan,  who  led  the  turning  force,  gained  a 
position  at  Five  Forks  (April  ist,  1865)  commanding  the 
roads  to  the  rear  of  Richmond  and  Petersburg,  and  Lee  could 
not  drive  him  back.  On  the  night  of  April  2nd  and  3rd, 
Lee  withdrew  his  army  from  his  works  and  endeavoured  to 
escape  by  the  valley  of  the  Appomattox  to  the  foot-hills  of  the 
Alleghanies.  While  the  main  Army  of  the  Potomac  hung  on 
his  flank  and  rear,  Sheridan,  with  his  cavalry  and  an  infantry 
corps,  pushed  to  the  front.  By  a  misunderstanding,  the 
supplies  designed  for  Lee's  soldiers  were  sent  to  Richmond. 
This  necessitated  a  delay  to  enable  the  men  to  procure  what- 
ever food  there  was  in  the  vicinity.  The  supplies  obtained 
were  scanty  enough,  and  the  delay  was  fatal.    When  (April  7th, 

19 — 2 


292 


The  War  for  the  Union. 


[Chap. 


1865)  the  starving  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  reached  the 
vicinity  of  Appomattox  Court  House,  a  body  of  dismounted 
Union  cavalry  was  descried  drawn  up  across  the  line  of  retreat. 
Lee  deployed  his  men,  when  the  cavalry  drawing  off  disclosed 
an  infantry  line  of  battle.  Sheridan's  cavalry  and  the  Fifth 
Corps  were  in  front  of  Lee's  veterans  ;  the  main  body  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  was  pressing  them  from  behind.  There 
was  nothing  left  but  surrender.  The  terms  granted  to  these 
soldiers,  and  later  to  Johnston's  men,  were  such  as  had  never 
before  been  granted  to  the  vanquished  at  the  end  of  a  great 
civil  war.  They  required  that  the  Confederate  soldiers  should 
lay  down  their  arms  and  cease  from  hostilities  —  nothing  more. 
Grant  even  did  what  he  could  to  repair  the  exhaustion  of  the 
South,  by  allowing  the  men  who  had  horses  to  retain  them : 
"They  will  need  them  for  the  spring  ploughing."  An  en- 
deavour was  later  made  to  bring  to  account  the  politicians  who 
had  led  the  secession.  But  the  attempt  was  wisely  abandoned. 
The  surrender  at  Appomattox  was  on  April  9th,  1865. 

Five  days  later,  on  Good  Friday,  April  14th, 
murdered.  i^^s,  Abraham  Lincoln  was  murdered  by  a 

demented  sympathizer  with  the  cause  of  dis- 
union. Thus  perished  the  one  man  able  and  willing  to  restrain 
the  Northern  extremists.  The  "reconstruction  "  of  the  Union 
fell  into  less  capable  hands,  and  many  of  the  later  woes  of  the 
South  may  be  regarded  as  in  part  due  to  this  most  unholy 
of  murders.  But  our  story  ends  here.  It  remains  only  to  call 
the  reader's  attention  to  a  few  of  the  underlying  causes  for  the 
long  duration  of  the  conflict  and  for  the  final  triumph  of  the 
North. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  States  remaining  in  the  Union 
outnumbered  the  inhabitants  of  the  seceding 

Northern  ^  ^ 

and  Southern  States,  morc  than  two  to  one.  The  Union 
soldiers.  armies  outnumbered  the  Confederate  armies 

throughout  the  war,  although  the  disproportion  became  more 


X.] 


The  North  and  the  Sotitk. 


293 


marked  after  1863.  Why  then,  on  the  one  hand,  was  not 
the  South  crushed,  at  the  outset?  On  the  other  hand,  how 
did  it  happen  that  it  was  ultimately  beaten?  In  the  first 
place,  it  must  be  conceded  that  the  Southern  leaders  made 
a  better  use  of  their  resources  —  bearing  in  mind  the  immediate 
object  in  view  —  than  the  leaders  of  the  Northern  people. 
The  whole  Southern  population  was  utilized  for  war  purposes. 
Everything  else  was  abandoned.  The  able-bodied  men  went 
to  the  front,  the  old,  the  young,  and  the  infirm  remained 
behind  with  the  women  and  the  slaves.  The  old  men  and  the 
women  superintended  the  work  of  the  plantation.  The  pro- 
ductive forces  of  the  South  were  thus  utilized  until  near  the 
close  of  the  conflict  with  very  slight  assistance  from  the  able- 
bodied  adult  males.  These  were  thus  free  to  become  soldiers, 
and  were  forced  into  the  army  by  the  Confederate  government 
with  a  ruthless  hand.  In  the  North  the  case  was  very  different. 
The  Union  leaders,  perhaps  because  they  under-estimated  the 
resistance  the  Southern  people  would  make,  or  perhaps  because 
they  realized  that  the  war  would  be  long  and  costly,  built  up 
the  industries  of  the  North  on  the  one  hand,  while  they  fought 
the  South  on  the  other.  A  protective  tariff  stimulated  manu- 
facturing, a  liberal  policy  as  to  the  national  domain  aided  the 
settlement  of  the  western  States  and  territories,  which  was 
further  encouraged  by  the  building  of  long  lines  of  railroads 
opening  up  new  regions  to  settlement.  The  productive 
capacities  of  the  North  were  in  these  ways  enormously 
increased  and  expanded  during  the  war.  The  North  grew 
stronger  in  material  resources  every  year,  and  every  year  there- 
fore there  was  a  greater  fund  from  which  to  draw  revenue  for 
the  support  of  the  war.  This  great  expansion  in  industry, 
however,  demanded  the  labour  of  a  very  large  proportion 
of  the  adult  male  population  and  thus  prevented  the  Union 
leaders  from  making  an  unrestricted  use  of  their  resources  in 
the  way  of  men  fit  for  service  in  the  army.    These  facts  alone, 


294  The  War  for  the  Union,  [Chap. 

had  other  things  been  equal,  would  have  accounted  for  the 
prolongation  of  the  struggle  and  for  the  eventual  collapse 
of  the  South. 

The  Union  government,  while  developing  the  resources 
The  South  ^^^'"^  people,  seriously  crippled  those  of 

during  the  the  sccessionists.    This  was  accomplished  by 

the  blockading  of  the  Southern  ports.  The 
blockade  was  begun  in  April  1861,  and  continued  with  ever- 
increasing  severity  to  the  close  of  the  war.  The  naval  blockade, 
moreover,  was  supplemented  by  an  equally  rigorous  land 
blockade.  Of  course,  there  was  a  movement  of  goods  in  and 
out  of  the  Confederacy.  Specially  constructed  vessels  ran  the 
blockade  of  the  seaports,  at  very  great  risk  to  themselves,  and 
merchandise  of  one  kind  or  another,  was  smuggled  across  the 
land  frontier.  But  these  were  as  driblets  to  the  natural  stream 
of  commerce.  The  effectiveness  of  the  blockade  can  be  dis- 
covered from  the  fact  that  the  exports  of  cotton  fell  from 
over  two  hundred  million  dollars'  worth  in  i860  to  four  million 
dollars  worth  in  1863.  Practically,  the  commercial  life  of  the 
Confederacy  was  brought  to  a  complete  cessation.  Had  the 
North  been  thus  closed  to  the  outer  world  it  would  have  made 
little  difference.  That  section  contained  in  full  operation  all 
the  elements  of  social  organization  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
The  South  did  not.  Cotton  was  its  staple,  and  the  inability 
freely  to  export  that  commodity  deprived  the  South  of  the 
means  of  civilized  existence.  The  capital  of  the  South  con- 
sisted in  land  and  slaves.  As  the  cultivation  of  cotton  gradually 
ceased,  the  production  of  food-stuffs  increased.  But  there 
existed  no  means  of  replacing  the  material  of  war  as  it  was 
destroyed.  The  blockade-runners  brought  in  scant  supplies 
of  arms  and  munitions;  but  towards  the  end  this  source  of 
supply  was  destroyed,  and  it  was  proposed  to  arm  at  least  one 
regiment  with  pikes.  But  when  one  looks  beyond  the  bare 
necessaries  of  existence  and  warfare,  and  has  regard  for  such 


X.] 


The  North  and  the  South. 


295 


necessities  of  civilization  as  boots  and  clothing  and  paper, 
one  finds  that  the  South  was  fairly  denuded  of  these  things  in 
1865.  The  sufferings  of  the  soldiers  were  greatly  increased  by 
the  gradual  collapse  of  the  Confederate  government's  credit. 
There  was  comparatively  little  business  transacted  in  the 
South,  and  the  government,  unable  to  raise  much  by  taxation, 
carried  on  the  contest  by  credit,  and  that  was  so  little  regarded 
that  the  Confederate  paper  money  was  practically  valueless 
in  1864-65.  It  took,  for  instance,  five  hundred  dollars  to  buy 
a  pair  of  boots.  The  blockade  by  land  and  sea,  in  short, 
contributed  more  than  any  other  single  thing  to  the  destruction 
of  the  Confederacy. 

The  fact  that  the  Confederate  government  was  a  despotism 
from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  its  brief  life 
contributed  largely  to  the  early  and  energetic  u^^tatio^^^^^^^ 
use  of  the  resources  of  the  South.  There  was, 
indeed,  a  Confederate  Constitution,  and  Jefferson  Davis  was 
elected  President.  There  was  also  all  the  paraphernalia 
of  a  constitutional  government  in  the  shape  of  a  congress 
and  great  departments,  each  with  its  chief.  In  reality,  how- 
ever, Davis  wielded  the  powers  of  a  despot;  and,  considering 
the  task  in  hand,  used  his  power  with  skill  and  vigour. 
The  Union  government,  on  the  other  hand,  was  sorely 
hampered  by  the  necessity  of  consulting  the  susceptibilities 
of  the  people  and  of  many  of  the  State  governments.  It 
was  hampered  at  the  outset  by  the  necessity  of  observing 
the  Habeas  Corpus  Act  and  other  constitutional  safeguards. 
Throughout  the  war  a  large  party  among  the  people  of  the 
North  opposed  its  acts,  while  the  South  was  substantially 
unanimous  in  support  of  the  Confederate  government,  at  least 
until  the  autumn  of  1864. 

Although  it  is  true  that  Southern  armies  occasionally 
invaded  the  North,  only  to  meet  with  repulse,  the  war  was, 
on  the  part  of  the  South,  defensive  in  the  main.  Defensive 


296 


TPie  War  for  the  Union. 


[Chap. 


warfare  in  itself  is  easier  than  offensive  warfare,  and  in  this 
instance  the  topography  of  the  South  greatly 
the  struggle  assisted  the  defenders.  The  natural  obstructions 
presented  by  the  large  and  numerous  rivers 
flowing  eastward  and  westward  from  the  Alleghany  Mountains 
were  formidable.  Moreover,  the  paucity  of  artificial  means  of 
transport,  such  as  railroads,  and  the  insufficiency  of  the  country 
roads,  impeded  the  march  of  the  well-supplied  Union  armies 
to  a  much  greater  extent  than  they  did  the  progress  of  the 
Southern  soldiers,  who,  as  a  rule,  were  seldom  troubled  with 
much  equipment  or  food.  The  Union  soldiers  were  probably 
better  fed,  clothed,  and  cared  for  than  any  army  had  been 
before  i860.  Their  very  wealth,  however,  hindered  their 
movements,  and  it  was  not  until  the  Atlanta  campaign  that 
the  two  armies  faced  one  another  on  anything  like  an  equal 
footing  in  this  respect.  In  that  campaign,  General  Sherman 
reduced  the  impedimenta  of  his  army  to  the  lowest  possible 
point  consistent  with  continued  efficiency.  It  should  be  noted, 
however,  that  the  federal  leaders  utilized  to  advantage  the 
railways  existing  in  the  South  and  also  made  great  use  of  the 
more  important  navigable  streams.  Without  these  means  of 
communication  the  conquest  of  the  South  might  have  been 
impossible. 

It  must  be  conceded  also  that  the  Southerner  was  a  better 
Northern  soldier  in  the  beginning  of  a  term  of  service  than 
and  Southern  the  Northerner.  The  habits  and  associations  of 
the  people  of  the  North  were  peaceful.  The 
fields,  shops,  and  professional  offices  of  that  section  gave  full 
opportunities  to  the  young  Northerner  to  display  his  energies. 
The  army  and  the  navy  of  the  United  States  were  largely 
officered  by  Southerners,  to  whom  the  conditions  of  life  in  the 
South  offered  few  inducements  to  remain  at  home.  Most 
of  these  men  "followed  their  States"  in  place  of  observing 
their  oaths  of  allegiance  to  the  United  States.    There  were 


X.] 


The  North  and  the  South, 


297 


many  exceptions  to  this  rule,  and  some  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished Union  leaders,  Farragut  and  Thomas,  for  instance, 
were  Southern  men.  Besides,  most  of  the  Northern  men  who 
had  been  educated  at  West  Point  had  left  the  army  after  their 
obligations  to  the  government  had  been  fulfilled,  and  had 
entered  civil  pursuits.  McClellan,  for  example,  was  president 
of  a  railroad.  Grant  was  engaged  in  business,  and  Sherman  was 
teaching  school.  It  took  time  for  these  men  to  gain  the 
positions  to  which  their  talents  fitted  them.  Indeed,  in  some 
cases,  as  in  that  of  Sherman,  their  knowledge  of  the  probable 
requirements  of  the  war  led  them  to  make  such  large  demands 
for  men,  that  civilian  officers,  ignorant  of  the  problem,  were 
given  the  preference.  The  "poor  white''  of  the  South,  too, 
submitted  more  readily  to  discipline  at  the  hands  of  the 
Southern  aristocrats,  than  did  the  Northern  labourer  or  clerk 
to  the  orders  and  admonitions  of  his  military  superior,  who 
may  well  have  been  his  fellow  clerk  or  labourer  a  week  or  a 
month  before.  When  drilled  and  hardened  to  war  by  con- 
tinued service,  the  Northern  volunteer  proved  to  be  as  good  a 
soldier  as  any. 

The  Southern  military  organization  was  more  permanent 
than  was  that  of  the  North.    Lee  became  the      „  u  .  r:, 

Robert  E. 

head  of  the  army  defending  Richmond  in  the  Lee  and  Gen- 
summer  of  1862,  and  led  it  to  victory  and  defeat  Jackson, 
until  the  close  of  the  war  in  April,  1865.  The  Army  of  the 
Potomac  was  led  by  six  men  in  rapid  succession  until  May, 
1863,  when  Meade  assumed  command.  Robert  E.  Lee  was 
the  ablest  soldier  of  the  war.  Indeed  he  takes  high  rank 
among  the  foremost  military  leaders  of  modern  times.  His 
ablest  subordinate  was  "Stonewall"  Jackson,  who  had  no 
equal  in  executing  orders  in  either  army.  The  Confederates 
in  the  East,  therefore,  had  the  advantage  in  position,  in  organi- 
zation, and  in  leadership.  This  was  not  the  case  in  the  West, 
at  least  not  to  anything  like  the  same  extent. 


298 


The  War  for  the  Union. 


[Chap. 


Albert  Sidney  Johnston,  the  ablest  Confederate  commander 

in  the  West,  was  killed  at  Shiloh,  in  1862.  The 
the  w^t^'         ^^^y  other  man  who  seemed  to  be  able  to  cope 

with  Grant,  Sherman,  Thomas,  or  Sheridan,  was 
Joseph  E.  Johnston;  but  he  held  no  important  command  in 
the  West  until  the  Atlanta  campaign,  and  he  was  removed  from 
his  place  at  the  head  of  the  defending  army  at  the  moment 
when  his  policy  might  have  borne  important  fruit.  To  these 
facts,  and  to  the  nature  of  the  country,  which  was  more 
practicable  for  the  invader,  may  be  ascribed  the  successes  of 
the  Union  armies  in  the  West. 

In  the  closing  chapter  of  his  interesting  sketch  of  the  Civil 

War,  Colonel  Dodge  gives  some  statistics,  from 
the^war!^^  °^     which  it  is  found  that  the  Union  soldiers  were 

always  more  numerous  than  the  Confederate 
soldiers.  On  July  ist,  1861,  the  Union  armies  contained 
one  hundred  and  eighty- six  thousand  soldiers  to  some  one 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  in  the  Confederate  armies.  The 
highest  number  credited  to  the  latter  belligerent  is  six  hundred 
and  ninety  thousand  in  June  1863,  at  which  time  the  Union 
soldiers  numbered  nine  hundred  and  eighteen  thousand.  From 
that  time,  the  inequality  steadily  increased.  In  January  1864, 
the  Union  soldiers  outnumbered  their  opponents  two  to  one; 
at  the  beginning  of  1865,  the  proportion  was  four  to  one. 
On  March  31st,  1865,  ten  days  before  Lee's  surrender,  the 
Union  soldiers  numbered  nine  hundred  and  eighty  thousand 
to  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  thousand  on  the  Confederate 
rolls.  The  Union  soldiers,  therefore,  always  outnumbered  the 
Confederates.  But  this  numerical  preponderance  was  often 
more  apparent  than  real.  The  Union  soldiers  performed  many 
services,  which  in  the  Southern  armies  were  done  by  slaves  — 
such  as  constructing  defensive  works.  Bearing  this  in  mind  it 
would  not  be  far  from  the  truth  to  say  that  in  the  earlier  years 
of  the  war,  the  number  of  soldiers  actually  equipped  and  ready 


X.] 


Results  of  the  War. 


299 


to  take  their  places  in  the  fighting  line  was  about  the  same  on 
both  sides.  Even  when  this  was  not  the  case,  the  Confederates 
were  able,  by  means  of  their  shorter  interior  lines,  to  reinforce 
their  armies  at  the  most  threatened  points  with  greater  ease 
and  speed  than  their  opponents,  to  which  end  their  superior 
marching  qualities  also  contributed.  It  was  not  until  1864 
that  the  Union  forces  were  really  superior  in  numbers  at  all 
points.  The  sacrifices  of  the  soldiers  in  the  contending  armies 
were  enormous.  Some  figures  have  been  already  given.  It 
may  be  well  to  add  that  about  ninety-five  thousand  Union 
soldiers  were  killed  or  fatally  wounded  on  the  field  of  battle. 
One  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  more  succumbed  to  disease 
while  on  the  army  rolls.  Adding  to  these  all  those  who  died 
from  accident,  or  disappeared  permanently,  or  died  within  a 
short  time  from  wounds  received  in  action,  or  from  disease 
contracted  while  in  the  service.  Colonel  Dodge  thinks  that 
about  half  a  million  men  were  lost  to  the  North  and  as  many 
more  to  the  South.  The  war,  therefore,  cost  the  American 
people  the  lives  of  one  million  men.  These  men  perished  in 
no  less  than  two  thousand  four  hundred  actions  which  were  of 
sufficient  importance  to  receive  names.  The  total  cost  of  the 
war  to  the  Union  government  was  about  three  and  one-half 
thousand  millions  of  dollars  —  not  including  expenses  incurred 
by  the  separate  States  or  municipalities.  From  this  estimate, 
too,  payments  for  pensions,  which  are  now  being  made  at  the 
rate  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  million  dollars  each  year,  are  also 
excluded.  Taking  everything  into  consideration,  the  war  for 
the  Union  cost  the  nation  not  less  than  ten  thousand  million 
dollars  (two  thousand  million  pounds  sterling). 

In  the  preceding  pages  we  have  seen  how  sixteen  hundred 
thousand  colonists  living  on  the  Atlantic  seaboard  of  North 
America  developed  into  a  great  nation  stretching  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.    In  the  beginning  many  things  made 


300 


The  War  for  the  Union,        [Chap,  x.] 


against  the  establishment  of  a  national  government;  the  diver- 
gent interests  of  the  several  sections  and  the  genius  of  the  people 
were  opposed  to  consolidation.  Federation  bridged  over  this 
difficulty  for  a  time;  but  the  necessities  of  the  case  demanded 
a  stronger  organization,  and  in  1789  a  government  partly 
federal  and  partly  national  was  substituted  for  the  weak  Con- 
federation. -  A  great  change  in  economic  conditions  fastened 
the  institution  of  slavery  on  the  South  at  the  time  that  slavery 
was  disappearing  in  the  North.  The  country  was  thus  divided 
into  two  sections  whose  social  and  business  interests  were 
irreconcilable.  The  weaker  section  appealed  to  the  old  prin- 
ciples of  federation  pure  and  simple  and  repudiated  the  idea  of 
nationality.  The  Civil  War  settled  these  two  questions  of 
slavery  and  nationality  in  favour  of  the  North.  The  old  issues 
on  which  political  parties  formed  and  fought  disappeared  in 
1865.  United  under  a  government  which  had  withstood  the 
shock  of  this  great  conflict,  the  American  people,  with  a  hope- 
fulness born  of  past  successes  and  with  a  buoyancy  peculiar 
to  itself,  looked  forward  to  the  solution  of  whatever  problems 
the  future  might  have  in  store. 


APPENDIX. 


I. 

THE  VIRGINIA  RESOLVES,  1769. 

Resolves  of  the  House  of  Burgesses^  passed  the  i6th  of  May^ 
1769. 

i^esolbetJ,  Nemine  \    That  the  sole  right  of  imposing  taxes  on  the 

Contradicente,     \  inhabitants  of  this  His  Majesty's  Colony 

and  Dominion  of  Virginia  is  now,  and  ever  hath  been,  legally 
and  constitutionally  vested  in  the  House  of  Burgesses,  law- 
fully convened,  according  to  the  ancient  and  established 
practice,  with  the  consent  of  the  Council,  and  of  His  Majesty, 
the  King  of  Great  Britain,  or  his  Governor  for  the  time  being. 

\3^lesolbell,  ne?nine  contradicente^  That  it  is  the  undoubted  privilege 
of  the  inhabitants  of  this  colony  to  petition  their  Sovereign 
for  redress  of  grievances ;  and  that  it  is  lawful  and  expedient 
to  procure  the  concurrence  of  His  Majesty's  other  colonies, 
in  dutiful  addresses,  praying  the  royal  interposition  in  favour 
of  the  violated  rights  of  America. 

l^esolbetJ,  nemine  contradicente^  That  all  trials  for  treason,  mis- 
prision of  treason,  or  for  any  felony  or  crime  whatsoever, 
committed  and  done  in  this  His  Majesty's  said  colony  and 
dominion,  by  any  person  or  persons  residing  therein,  ought  of 
right  to  be  had,  and  conducted  in  and  before  His  Majesty's 
courts,  held  within  his  said  colony,  according  to  the  fixed  and 
known  course  of  proceeding ;  and  that  the  seizing  any  person 
or  persons  residing  in  the  colony,  suspected  of  any  crime 
whatsoever,  committed  therein,  and  sending  such  person  or 
persons  to  places  beyond  the  sea  to  be  tried,  is  highly  de- 
rogatory of  the  rights  of  British  subjects,  as  thereby  the 
inestimable  privilege  of  being  tried  by  a  jury  from  the 
301 


302 


Appendix, 


vicinage,  as  well  as  the  liberty  of  summoning  and  producing 
witnesses  on  such  trial,  will  be  taken  away  from  the  party 
accused. 

l^tesolbeti,  ne^nine  contradicente^  That  an  humble,  dutiful  and  loyal 
address  be  presented  to  His  Majesty,  to  assure  him  of  our 
inviolable  attachment  to  his  sacred  person  and  government ; 
and  to  beseech  his  royal  interposition,  as  the  father  of  all  his 
people,  however  remote  from  the  seat  of  his  empire,  to  quiet 
the  minds  of  his  loyal  subjects  of  this  colony,  and  to  avert 
from  them  those  dangers  and  miseries  which  will  ensue,  from 
the  seizing  and  carrying  beyond  sea  any  person  residing  in 
America,  suspected  of  any  crime  whatsoever,  to  be  tried  in 
any  other  manner  than  by  the  ancient  and  long  established 
course  of  proceeding. 
[The  following  order  is  likewise  in  their  journal  of  that  date.] 

Ordered,  That  the  speaker  of  this  House  do  transmit,  without 
delay,  to  the  speakers  of  the  several  houses  of  Assembly  on 
this  continent,  a  copy  of  the  resolutions  now  agreed  to  by  this 
House,  requesting  their  concurrence  therein. 

II. 

THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE. 
(^Adopted  by  the  Continental  Congress^  July  ^th,  1776.) 

5n  3vi\^  4y  ^77^'    ^fje  unanimous  telaratton  of 

tfje  ttirtem  uniteti  States  of  America* 

When  in  the  Course  of  human  events,  it  becomes  necessary 
for  one  people  to  dissolve  the  political  bands  which  have  connected 
them  with  another,  and  to  assume  among  the  powers  of  the  earth, 
the  separate  and  equal  station  to  which  the  Laws  of  Nature  and  of 
Nature's  God  entitle  them,  a  decent  respect  to  the  opinions  of 
mankind  requires  that  they  should  declare  the  causes  which  impel 
them  to  the  separation. 

We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident,  that  all  men  are  created 
equal,  that  they  are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with  certain  un- 


Appendix. 


303 


alienable  Rights,  that  among  these  are  Life,  Liberty  and  th'e  pursuit 
of  Happiness.  That  to  secure  these  rights,  Governments  are  in- 
stituted among  Men,  deriving  their  just  powers  from  the  consent 
of  the  governed,  —  That  whenever  any  Form  of  Government  becomes 
destructive  of  these  ends,  it  is  the  Right  of  the  People  to  alter  or 
to  abolish  it,  and  to  institute  new  Government,  laying  its  founda- 
tion on  such  principles  and  organizing  its  powers  in  such  form, 
as  to  them  shall  seem  most  likely  to  effect  their  Safety  and 
Happiness.  Prudence,  indeed,  will  dictate  that  Governments  long 
established  should  not  be  changed  for  light  and  transient  causes ; 
and  accordingly  all  experience  hath  shewn,  that  mankind  are 
more  disposed  to  suffer,  while  evils  are  sufferable,  than  to  right 
themselves  by  abolishing  the  forms  to  which  they  are  accustomed. 
But  when  a  long  train  of  abuses  and  usurpations,  pursuing  in- 
variably the  same  Object  evinces  a  design  to  reduce  them  under 
absolute  Despotism,  it  is  their  right,  it  is  their  duty,  to  throw  off 
such  Government,  and  to  provide  new  Guards  for  their  future 
security.  Such  has  been  the  patient  sufferance  of  these  Colonies ; 
and  such  is  now  the  necessity  which  constrains  them  to  alter  their 
former  Systems  of  Government.  The  history  of  the  present  King 
of  Great  Britain  is  a  history  of  repeated  injuries  and  usurpations,  all 
having  in  direct  object  the  establishment  of  an  absolute  Tyranny 
over  these  States.  To  prove  this,  let  Facts  be  submitted  to  a 
candid  world. 

He  has  refused  his  Assent  to  Laws,  the  most  wholesome  and 
necessary  for  the  public  good. 

He  has  forbidden  his  Governors  to  pass  Laws  of  immediate  and 
pressing  importance,  unless  suspended  in  their  operation  till  his 
Assent  should  be  obtained ;  and  when  so  suspended,  he  has  utterly 
neglected  to  attend  to  them. 

He  has  refused  to  pass  other  Laws  for  the  accommodation  of 
large  districts  of  people,  unless  those  people  would  relinquish  the 
right  of  Representation  in  the  Legislature,  a  right  inestimable  to 
them  and  formidable  to  tyrants  only. 

He  has  called  together  legislative  bodies  at  places  unusual, 
uncomfortable,  and  distant  from  the  depository  of  their  public 
Records,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  fatiguing  them  into  compliance 
with  his  measures. 


304 


Appendix, 


He  has  dissolved  Representative  Houses  repeatedly,  for  opposing 
with  manly  firmness  his  invasions  on  the  rights  of  the  people. 

He  has  refused  for  a  long  time,  after  such  dissolutions,  to  cause 
others  to  be  elected ;  whereby  the  Legislative  powers,  incapable  of 
Annihilation,  have  returned  to  the  People  at  large  for  their  exercise  ; 
the  State  remaining  in  the  mean  time  exposed  to  all  the  dangers 
of  invasion  from  without,  and  convulsions  within. 

He  has  endeavoured  to  prevent  the  population  of  these  States ; 
for  that  purpose  obstructing  the  Laws  for  Naturalization  of  Foreign- 
ers ;  refusing  to  pass  others  to  encourage  their  migration  hither, 
and  raising  the  conditions  of  new  Appropriations  of  Lands. 

He  has  obstructed  the  Administration  of  Justice,  by  refusing 
his  Assent  to  Laws  for  establishing  Judiciary  powers. 

He  has  made  Judges  dependent  on  his  Will  alone,  for  the  tenure 
of  their  offices,  and  the  amount  and  payment  of  their  salaries. 

He  has  erected  a  multitude  of  New  Offices,  and  sent  hither 
swarms  of  Officers  to  harass  our  people,  and  eat  out  their  sub- 
stance. 

He  has  kept  among  us,  in  times  of  peace,  Standing  Armies 
without  the  Consent  of  our  legislatures. 

He  has  affected  to  render  the  Military  independent  of  and 
superior  to  the  Civil  power. 

He  has  combined  with  others  to  subject  us  to  a  jurisdiction 
foreign  to  our  constitution,  and  unacknowledged  by  our  laws ; 
giving  his  Assent  to  their  Acts  of  pretended  Legislation : 

For  quartering  large  bodies  of  armed  troops  among  us  : 

For  protecting  them,  by  a  mock  Trial,  from  punishment,  for 
any  Murders  which  they  should  commit  on  the  Inhabitants  of 
these  States : 

For  cutting  off  our  Trade  with  all  parts  of  the  world  : 
For  imposing  Taxes  on  us  without  our  Consent : 
For  depriving  us  in  many  cases,  of  the  benefits  of  Trial  by 
Jury : 

For  transporting  us  beyond  Seas  to  be  tried  for  pretended 
offences : 

For  abolishing  the  free  System  of  English  Laws  in  a  neighbour- 
ing Province,  establishing  therein  an  Arbitrary  government,  and 
enlarging  its  Boundaries  so  as  to  render  it  at  once  an  example 


Appendix. 


305 


and  fit  instrument  for  introducing  the  same  absolute  rule  into  these 
Colonies : 

For  taking  away  our  Charters,  abolishing  our  most  valuable  Laws, 
and  altering  fundamentally  the  Forms  of  our  Governments  : 

For  suspending  our  own  Legislatures,  and  declaring  themselves 
invested  with  power  to  legislate  for  us  in  all  cases  whatsoever. 

He  has  abdicated  Government  here,  by  declaring  us  out  of  his 
Protection  and  waging  War  against  us. 

He  has  plundered  our  seas,  ravaged  our  Coasts,  burnt  our  towns, 
and  destroyed  the  lives  of  our  people. 

He  is  at  this  time  transporting  large  Armies  of  foreign  Merce- 
naries to  compleat  the  works  of  death,  desolation  and  tyranny, already 
begun  with  circumstances  of  Cruelty  &  perfidy  scarcely  paralleled  in 
the  most  barbarous  ages,  and  totally  unworthy  the  Head  of  a  civil- 
ized nation. 

He  has  constrained  our  fellow  Citizens  taken  Captive  on  the 
high  Seas  to  bear  Arms  against  their  Country,  to  become  the  execu- 
tioners of  their  friends  and  Brethren,  or  to  fall  themselves  by  their 
Hands. 

He  has  excited  domestic  insurrections  amongst  us,  and  has  en- 
deavoured to  bring  on  the  inhabitants  of  our  frontiers,  the  merciless 
Indian  Savages,  whose  known  rule  of  warfare,  is  an  undistinguished 
destruction  of  all  ages,  sexes  and  conditions. 

In  every  stage  of  these  Oppressions  We  have  Petitioned  for 
Redress  in  the  most  humble  terms :  Our  repeated  Petitions  have 
been  answered  only  by  repeated  injury.  A  Prince,  whose  character 
is  thus  marked  by  every  act  which  may  define  a  Tyrant,  is  unfit  to 
be  the  ruler  of  a  free  people. 

Nor  have  We  been  wanting  in  attentions  to  our  Brittish  brethren. 
We  have  warned  them  from  time  to  time  of  attempts  by  their  legis- 
lature to  extend  an  unwarrantable  jurisdiction  over  us.  We  have 
reminded  them  of  the  circumstances  of  our  emigration  and  settle- 
ment here.  We  have  appealed  to  their  native  justice  and  magna- 
nimity, and  we  have  conjured  them  by  the  ties  of  our  common 
kindred  to  disavow  these  usurpations,  which  would  inevitably  inter- 
rupt our  connections  and  correspondence.  They  too  have  been 
deaf  to  the  voice  of  justice  and  of  consanguinity.  We  must,  there- 
fore, acquiesce  in  the  necessity,  which  denounces  our  Separation, 

C.  A.  20 


306 


Appendix, 


and  hold  them,  as  we  hold  the  rest  of  mankind,  Enemies  in  War, 

in  Peace  Friends. 

SMe,  tfjerefore,  the  Representatives  of  the  untteti  states  of  ^mx-^ 
ica,  in  General  Congress,  Assembled,  appealing  to  the  Supreme 
Judge  of  the  world  for  the  rectitude  of  our  intentions,  do,  in  the 
Name,  and  by  Authority  of  the  good  People  of  these  Colonies, 
solemnly  publish  and  declare.  That  these  United  Colonies  are, 
and  of  Right  ought  to  be  Sxtz  antJ  CntJepentient  states ;  that  they  are 
Absolved  from  all  Allegiance  to  the  British  Crown,  and  that  all 
political  connection  between  them  and  the  State  of  Great  Britain, 
is  and  ought  to  be  totally  dissolved ;  and  that  as  Free  and  Inde- 
pendent States,  they  have  full  Power  to  levy  War,  conclude  Peace, 
contract  Alliances,  establish  Commerce,  and  to  do  all  other  Acts 
and  Things  which  Independent  States  may  of  right  do.  And 
for  the  support  of  this  Declaration,  with  a  firm  reliance  on  the  pro- 
tection of  divine  Providence,  we  mutually  pledge  to  each  other  our 
Lives,  our  Fortunes  and  our  sacred  Honor. 

JOHN  HANCOCK. 


1  \New  Hampshire,'\ 
JosiAH  Bartlett, 
William  Whipple, 
Matthew  Thornton. 

{Massachusetts  BayJ] 
Samuel  Adams, 
John  Adams, 
Robert  Treat  Paine, 
Elbridge  Gerry. 

\Rhode  Island. 
Stephen  Hopkins, 
William  Ellery. 


[_Connecticut  J] 
Roger  Sherman, 
Samuel  Huntington, 

1  This  arrangement  of  the  names  is  made  for  convenience.  The  States 
are  not  mentioned  in  the  original. 


William  Williams, 
Oliver  Wolcott. 

[New  York,"] 

William  Floyd, 
Philip  Livingston, 
Francis  Lewis, 
Lewis  Morris. 

[New  Jersey."] 

Richard  Stockton, 
John  Witherspoon, 
Francis  Hopkinson, 
John  Hart, 
Abraham  Clark. 


Appendix. 


307 


[  Pennsylvania .  ] 

Robert  Morris, 
Benjamin  Rush, 
Benjamin  Franklin, 
John  Morton, 
George  Clymer, 
James  Smith, 
George  Taylor, 
James  Wilson, 
George  Ross. 

\pelaware.'\ 

CiESAR  Rodney, 
George  Read, 
Thomas  M'Kean. 

\Maryland^ 

Samuel  Chase, 
William  Paca, 
Thomas  Stone, 
Charles  Carroll  of 
CarroUton. 


\yirginia.'\ 
George  Wythe, 
Richard  Henry  Lee, 
Thomas  Jefferson, 
Benjamin  Harrison, 
Thomas  Nelson,  Jr., 
Francis  Lightfoot  Lee, 
Carter  Braxton. 

\North  Carolina^ 
William  Hoofer, 
Joseph  Hewes, 
John  Fenn. 

\_South  Carolina 
Edward  Rutledge, 
Thomas  Heyward,  Jr., 
Thomas  Lynch,  Jr., 
Arthur  Middleton. 

{Georgia?^ 
Button  Gwinnett, 
Lyman  Hall, 
Geo.  Walton. 


III. 

ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION.* 
{Adopted  by  Congress^  July  ()th,  1778.) 

^0  all  t0  raH)om 

these  Presents  shall  come,  we  the  undersigned  Delegates  of  the 
States  affixed  to  our  Names  send  greeting.  Whereas  the  Delegates 
of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled  did  on  the 
fifteenth  day  of  November  in  the  Year  of  Our  Lord  One  thousand 

1  From  American  History  Leaflets^  No.  20. 

20 — 2 


3o8 


Appendix, 


seven  Hundred  and  Seventy  seven,  and  in  the  second  Year  of  the 
Independence  of  America  agree  to  certain  articles  of  Confedera- 
tion and  perpetual  Union  between  the  States  of  Newhampshire, 
Massachusetts-bay,  Rhodeisland  and  Providence  Plantations,  Con- 
necticut, New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Mary- 
land, Virginia,  North-Carolina,  South-Carolina,  and  Georgia,  in 
the  Words  following,  viz.  "Articles  of  Confederation  and 
perpetual  Union  between  the  States  of  Newhampshire,  Massa- 
chusetts-bay, Rhodeisland  and  Providence  Plantations,  Connecti- 
cut, New-York,  New-Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Maryland, 
Virginia,  North-Carolina,  South-Carolina,  and  Georgia." 

Article  I.  The  Stile  of  this  confederacy  shall  be  *^The 
United  States  of  America." 

Article  II.  Each  state  retains  its  sovereignty,  freedom  and 
independence,  and  every  Power,  Jurisdiction  and  right,  which  is 
not  by  this  confederation  expressly  delegated  to  the  United  States, 
in  Congress  assembled. 

Article  III.  The  said  states  hereby  severally  enter  into  a 
firm  league  of  friendship  with  each  other,  for  their  common  de- 
fence, the  security  of  their  Liberties,  and  their  mutual  and  general 
welfare,  binding  themselves  to  assist  each  other,  against  all  force 
offered  to,  or  attacks  made  upon  them,  or  any  of  them,  on  account 
of  religion,  sovereignty,  trade,  or  any  other  pretence  whatever. 

Article  IV.  The  better  to  secure  and  perpetuate  mutual 
friendship  and  intercourse  among  the  people  of  the  different  states 
in  this  union,  the  free  inhabitants  of  each  of  these  states,  paupers, 
vagabonds,  and  fugitives  from  Justice  excepted,  shall  be  entitled 
to  all  privileges  and  immunities  of  free  citizens  in  the  several 
states ;  and  the  people  of  each  state  shall  have  free  ingress  and 
regress  to  and  from  any  other  state,  and  shall  enjoy  therein  all 
the  privileges  of  trade  and  commerce,  subject  to  the  same  duties, 
impositions  and  restrictions  as  the  inhabitants  thereof  respectively, 
provided  that  such  restriction  shall  not  extend  so  far  as  to  prevent 
the  removal  of  property  imported  into  any  state,  to  any  other  state 
of  which  the  Owner  is  an  inhabitant ;  provided  also  that  no  impo- 
sition, duties  or  restriction  shall  be  laid  by  any  state,  on  the  property 
of  the  united  states,  or  either  of  them. 

If  any  Person  be  guilty  of,  or  charged  with  treason  felony, 


Appendix. 


309 


or  other  high  misdemeanor  in  any  state,  shall  flee  from  Justice, 
and  be  found  in  any  of  the  united  states,  he  shall  upon  demand  of 
the  Governor  or  executive  power,  of  the  state  from  which  he  fled, 
be  delivered  up  and  removed  to  the  state  having  jurisdiction  of  his 
oflence. 

Full  faith  and  credit  shall  be  given  in  each  of  these  states  to 
the  records,  acts  and  judicial  proceedings  of  the  courts  and  magis- 
trates of  every  other  state. 

Article  V.  For  the  more  convenient  management  of  the 
general  interest  of  the  united  states,  delegates  shall  be  annually 
appointed  in  such  manner  as  the  legislature  of  each  state  shall 
direct,  to  meet  in  Congress  on  the  first  Monday  in  November,  in 
every  year,  with  a  power  reserved  to  each  state,  to  recal  its  dele- 
gates, or  any  of  them,  at  any  time  within  the  year,  and  to  send 
others  in  their  stead,  for  the  remainder  of  the  Year. 

No  state  shall  be  represented  in  Congress  by  less  than  two,  nor 
by  more  than  seven  Members ;  and  no  person  shall  be  capable  of 
being  a  delegate  for  more  than  three  years  in  any  term  of  six  years  ; 
nor  shall  any  person,  being  a  delegate,  be  capable  of  holding  any 
office  under  the  united  states,  for  which  he,  or  another  for  his  bene- 
fit receives  any  salary,  fees  or  emolument  of  any  kind. 

Each  state  shall  maintain  its  own  delegates  in  a  meeting  of  the 
states,  an^d  while  they  act  as  members  of  the  committee  of  the  states. 

In  determining  questions  in  the  united  states,  in  Congress 
assembled,  each  state  shall  have  one  vote. 

Freedom  of  speech  and  debate  in  congress  shall  not  be  im- 
peached or  questioned  in  any  Court,  or  place  out  of  Congress,  and 
the  members  of  Congress  shall  be  protected  in  their  persons  from 
arrests  and  imprisonments,  during  the  time  of  their  going  to  and 
from,  and  attendance  on  congress,  except  for  treason,  felony,  or 
breach  of  the  peace. 

Article  VI.  No  state  without  the  Consent  of  the  united 
states  in  congress  assembled,  shall  send  any  embassy  to,  or  receive 
any  embassy  from,  or  enter  into  any  conference,  agreement,  alliance 
or  treaty  with  any  King  prince  or  state  ;  nor  shall  any  person  hold- 
ing any  office  of  profit  or  trust  under  the  united  states,  or  any  oi 
them,  accept  of  any  present,  emolument,  office  or  title  of  any  kind 
whatever  from  any  king,  prince  or  foreign  state ;   nor  shall  the 


Appendix, 


united  states  in  congress  assembled,  or  any  of  them,  grant  any  title 
of  nobility. 

No  two  or  more  states  shall  enter  into  any  treaty,  confedera- 
tion or  alliance  whatever  between  them,  without  the  consent  of  the 
united  states  in  congress  assembled,  specifying  accurately  the  pur- 
pose for  which  the  same  is  to  be  entered  into,  and  how  long  it 
shall  continue. 

No  state  shall  lay  any  imposts  or  duties,  which  may  interfere 
with  any  stipulations  in  treaties,  entered  into*  by  the  united  states 
in  congress  assembled,  with  any  king,  prince  or  state,  in  pursuance 
of  any  treaties  already  proposed  by  congress,  to  the  courts  of  France 
and  Spain. 

CNo  vessels  of  war  shall  be  kept  up  in  time  of  peace  by  any 
state,  except  such  number  only,  as  shall  be  deemed  necessary  by 
the  united  states  in  congress  assembled,  for  the  defence  of  such 
state,  or  its  trade ;  nor  shall  any  body  of  forces  be  kept  up  by  any 
state,  in  time  of  peace,  except  such  number  only,  as  in  the  judg- 
ment of  the  united  states,  in  congress  assembled,  shall  be  deemed 
requisite  to  garrison  the  forts  necessary  for  the  defence  of  such 
state ;  but  every  state  shall  always  keep  up  a  well  regulated  and  dis- 
ciplined militia,  sufficiently  armed  and  accoutred,  and  shall  provide 
and  constantly  have  ready  for  use,  in  public  stores,  a  due  number  of 
field  pieces  and  tents,  and  a  proper  quantity  of  arms,  ammunition 
and  camp  equipageT) 

No  state  shall  engage  in  any  war  without  the  consent  of  the 
united  states  in  congress  assembled,  unless  such  state  be  actually 
invaded  by  enemies,  or  shall  have  received  certain  advice  of  a 
resolution  being  formed  by  some  nation  of  Indians  to  invade  such 
state,  and  the  danger  is  so  imminent  as  not  to  admit  of  a  delay,  till 
the  united  states  in  congress  assembled  can  be  consulted :  nor 
shall  any  state  grant  commissions  to  any  ships  or  vessels  of  war, 
nor  letters  of  marque  or  reprisal,  except  it  be  after  a  declaration 
of  war  by  the  united  states  in  congress  assembled,  and  then  only 
against  the  kingdom  or  state  and  the  subjects  thereof,  against 
which  war  has  been  so  declared,  and  under  such  regulations  as 
shall  be  established  by  the  united  states  in  congress  assembled, 
unless  such  state  be  infested  by  pirates,  in  which  case  vessels  of 
war  may  be  fitted  out  for  that  occasion,  and  kept  so  long  as  the 


Appendix. 


3" 


danger  shall  continue,  or  until  the  united  states  in  congress  as- 
sembled shall  determine  otherwise. 

Article  VII.  When  land-forces  are  raised  by  any  state  for 
the  common  defence,  all  officers  of  or  under  the  rank  of  colonel, 
shall  be  appointed  by  the  legislature  of  each  state  respectively  by 
whom  such  forces  shall  be  raised,  or  in  such  manner  as  such  state 
shall  direct,  and  all  vacancies  shall  be  filled  up  by  the  state  which 
hrst  made  the  appointment. 

Article  VIII.  All  charges  of  war,  and  all  other  expences 
that  shall  be  incurred  for  the  common  defence  or  general  welfare, 
and  allowed  by  the  united  states  in  congress  assembled,  shall  be 
defrayed  out  of  a  common  treasury,  which  shall  be  supplied  by 
the  several  states,  in  proportion  to  the  value  of  all  land  within 
each  state,  granted  to  or  surveyed  for  any  Person,  as  such  land 
and  the  buildings  and  improvements  thereon  shall  be  estimated 
according  to  such  mode  as  the  united  states  in  congress  assembled, 
shall  from  time  to  time,  direct  and  appoint.  The  taxes  for  paying 
that  proportion  shall  be  laid  and  levied  by  the  authority  and  direc- 
tion of  the  legislatures  of  the  several  states  within  the  time  agreed 
upon  by  the  united  states  in  congress  assembled. 

Article  IX.  The  united  states  in  congress  assembled,  shall 
have  the  sole  and  exclusive  right  and  power  of  determining  on 
peace  and  war,  except  in  the  cases  mentioned  in  the  sixth  article  — 
of  sending  and  receiving  ambassadors  —  entering  into  treaties  and 
alliances,  provided  that  no  treaty  of  commerce  shall  be  made 
whereby  the  legislative  power  of  the  respective  states  shall  be 
restrained  from  imposing  such  imposts  and  duties  on  foreigners, 
as  their  own  people  are  subjected  to,  or  from  prohibiting  the  ex- 
portation or  importation  of  any  species  of  goods  or  commodities 
whatsoever  —  of  establishing  rules  for  deciding  in  all  cases,  what 
captures  on  land  or  water  shall  be  legal,  and  in  what  manner  prizes 
taken  by  land  or  naval  forces  in  the  service  of  the  united  states 
shall  be  divided  or  appropriated  —  of  granting  letters  of  marque 
and  reprisal  in  times  of  peace  —  appointing  courts  for  the  trial  of 
piracies  and  felonies  committed  on  the  high  seas  and  establishing 
courts  for  receiving  and  determining  finally  appeals  in  all  cases  of 
captures,  provided  that  no  member  of  congress  shall  be  appointed 
a  judge  of  any  of  the  said  courts.  ^ 


312 


Appendix, 


The  united  states  in  congress  assembled  shall  also  be  the  last 
resort  on  appeal  in  all  disputes  and  differences  now  subsisting  or 
that  hereafter  may  arise  between  two  or  more  states  concerning 
boundary,  jurisdiction  or  any  other  cause  whatever ;  which  author- 
ity shall  always  be  exercised  in  the  manner  following.  Whenever 
the  legislative  or  executive  authority  or  lawful  agent  of  any  state 
in  controversy  with  another  shall  present  a  petition  to  congress, 
stating  the  matter  in  question  and  praying  for  a  hearing,  notice 
thereof  shall  be  given  by  order  of  congress  to  the  legislative  or 
executive  authority  of  the  other  state  in  controversy,  and  a  day 
assigned  for  the  appearance  of  the  parties  by  their  lawful  agents, 
who  shall  then  be  directed  to  appoint  by  joint  consent,  commis- 
sioners or  judges  to  constitute  a  court  for  hearing  and  determining 
the  matter  in  question :  but  if  they  cannot  agree,  congress  shall 
name  three  persons  out  of  each  of  the  united  states,  and  from  the 
list  of  such  persons  each  party  shall  alternately  strike  out  one, 
the  petitioners  beginning,  until  the  number  shall  be  reduced  to 
thirteen ;  and  from  that  number  not  less  than  seven,  nor  more 
than  nine  names  as  congress  shall  direct,  shall  in  the  presence  of 
congress  be  drawn  out  by  lot,  and  the  persons  whose  names  shall 
be  so  drawn  or  any  five  of  them,  shall  be  commissioners  or  judges, 
to  hear  and  finally  determine  the  controversy,  so  always  as  a 
major  part  of  the  judges  who  shall  hear  the  cause  shall  agree  in 
the  determination :  and  if  either  party  shall  neglect  to  attend  at 
the  day  appointed,  without  shewing  reasons,  which  congress  shall 
judge  sufficient,  or  being  present  shall  refuse  to  strike,  the  congress 
shall  proceed  to  nominate  three  persons  out  of  each  state,  and 
the  secretary  of  congress  shall  strike  in  behalf  of  such  party  absent 
or  refusing ;  and  the  judgment  and  sentence  of  the  court  to  be 
appointed,  in  the  manner  before  prescribed,  shall  be  final  and 
conclusive ;  and  if  any  of  the  parties  shall  refuse  to  submit  to 
the  authority  of  such  court,  or  to  appear  or  defend  their  claim 
or  cause,  the  court  shall  nevertheless  proceed  to  pronounce  sen- 
tence, or  judgment,  which  shall  in  like  manner  be  final  and  deci- 
sive, the  judgment  or  sentence  and  other  proceedings  being  in 
either  case  transmitted  to  congress,  and  lodged  among  the  acts 
of  congress  for  the  security  of  the  parties  concerned :  provided 
that  every  commissioner,  before  he  sits  in  judgment,  shall  take  an 


Appendix, 


313 


oath  to  be  administered  by  one  of  the  judges  of  the  supreme  or 
superior  court  of  the  state,  where  the  cause  shall  be  tried,  "well 
and  truly  to  hear  and  determine  the  matter  in  question,  according 
to  the  best  of  his  judgment,  without  favour,  affection  or  hope  of 
reward :  "  provided  also  that  no  state  shall  be  deprived  of  territory 
for  the  benefit  of  the  united  states. 

All  controversies  concerning  the  private  right  of  soil  claimed 
under  different  grants  of  two  or  more  states,  whose  jurisdictions 
as  they  may  respect  such  lands,  and  the  states  which  passed  such 
grants  are  adjusted,  the  said  grants  or  either  of  them  being  at  the 
same  time  claimed  to  have  originated  antecedent  to  such  settle- 
ment of  jurisdiction,  shall  on  the  petition  of  either  party  to  the 
congress  of  the  united  states,  be  finally  determined  as  near  as  may 
be  in  the  same  manner  as  is  before  prescribed  for  deciding  disputes 
respecting  territorial  jurisdiction  between  different  states. 

The  united  states  in  congress  assembled  shall  also  have  the 
sole  and  exclusive  right  and  power  of  regulating  the  alloy  and 
value  of  coin  struck  by  their  own  authority,  or  by  that  of  the 
respective  states  —  fixing  the  standard  of  weights  and  measures 
throughout  the  United  States  —  regulating  the  trade  and  manage- 
ing  all  affairs  with  the  Indians,  not  members  of  any  of  the  states, 
provided  that  the  legislative  right  of  any  state  within  its  own 
limits  be  not  infringed  or  violated  —  establishing  and  regulating 
post-ofifices  from  one  state  to  another,  throughout  all  the  united 
states,  and  exacting  such  postage  on  the  papers  passing  thro'  the 
same  as  may  be  requisite  to  defray  the  expences  of  the  said  office 
—  appointing  all  officers  of  the  land  forces,  in  the  service  of  the 
united  states,  excepting  regimental  officers  —  appointing  all  the 
officers  of  the  naval  forces,  and  commissioning  all  officers  what- 
ever in  the  service  of  the  united  states  —  making  rules  for  the  gov- 
ernment and  regulation  of  the  said  land  and  naval  forces,  and 
directing  their  operations. 

The  united  states  in  congress  assembled  shall  have  authority 
to  appoint  a  committee,  to  sit  in  the  recess  of  congress,  to  be 
denominated  "  A  Committee  of  the  States,"  and  to  consist  of  one 
delegate  from  each  state ;  and  to  appoint  such  other  committees 
and  civil  officers  as  may  be  necessary  for  manageing  the  general 
affairs  of  the  united  states  under  their  direction  —  to  appoint  one 


314 


Appendix. 


of  their  number  to  preside,  provided  that  no  person  be  allowed 

to  serve  in  the  office  of  president  more  than  one  year  in  any  term 
of  three  years ;  to  ascertain  the  necessary  sums  of  Money  to  be 
raised  for  the  service  of  the  united  states,  and  to  appropriate  and 
apply  the  same  for  defraying  the  public  expences  —  to  borrow 
money,  or  emit  bills  on  the  credit  of  the  united  states,  transmitting 
every  half  year  to  the  respective  states  an  account  of  the  sums 
of  money  so  borrowed  or  emitted,  —  to  build  and  equip  a  navy  — 
to  agree  upon  the  number  of  land  forces,  and  to  make  requisitions 
from  each  state  for  its  quota,  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  white 
inhabitants  in  such  state ;  which  requisition  shall  be  binding,  and 
thereupon  the  legislature  of  each  state  shall  appoint  the  regimental 
officers,  raise  the  men  and  cloath,  arm  and  equip  them  in  a  soldier 
hke  manner,  at  the  expence  of  the  united  states ;  and  the  officers 
and  men  so  cloathed,  armed  and  equipped  shall  march  to  the 
place  appointed,  and  within  the  time  agreed  on  by  the  united 
states  in  congress  assembled :  But  if  the  united  states  in  congress 
assembled  shall,  on  consideration  of  circumstances  judge  proper 
that  any  state  should  not  raise  men,  or  should  raise  a  smaller 
number  than  its  quota,  and  that  any  other  state  should  raise  a 
greater  number  of  men  than  the  quota  thereof,  such  extra  number 
shall  be  raised,  officered,  cloathed,  armed  and  equipped  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  quota  of  such  state,  unless  the  legislature  of 
such  state  shall  judge  that  such  extra  number  cannot  be  safely 
spared  out  of  the  same,  in  which  case  they  shall  raise,  officer, 
cloath,  arm  and  equip  as  many  of  such  extra  number  as  they  judge 
can  be  safely  spared.  And  the  officers  and  men  so  cloathed, 
armed  and  equipped,  shall  march  to  the  place  appointed,  and 
within  the  time  agreed  on  by  the  united  states  in  congress  as- 
sembled. 

The  united  states  in  congress  assembled  shall  never  engage  in 
a  war,  nor  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal  in  time  of  peace, 
nor  enter  into  any  treaties  or  alliances,  nor  coin  money,  nor 
regulate  the  value  thereof,  nor  ascertain  the  sums  and  expences 
necessary  for  the  defence  and  welfare  of  the  united  states,  or  any 
of  them,  nor  emit  bills,  nor  borrow  money  on  the  credit  of  the 
united  states,  nor  appropriate  money,  nor  agree  upon  the  number 
of  vessels  of  war,  to  be  built  or  purchased,  or  the  number  of  land 


Appendix. 


315 


or  sea  forces  to  be  raised,  nor  appoint  a  commander  in  chief  of 
the  army  or  navy,  unless  nine  states  assent  to  the  same :  nor  shall 
a  question  on  any  other  point,  except  for  adjourning  from  day  to 
day  be  determined,  unless  by  the  votes  of  a  majority  of  the  united 
states  in  congress  assembled. 

The  congress  of  the  united  states  shall  have  power  to  adjourn 
to  any  time  within  the  year,  and  to  any  place  within  the  united 
states,  so  that  no  period  of  adjournment  be  for  a  longer  duration 
than  the  space  of  six  months,  and  shall  publish  the  Journal  of  their 
proceedings  monthly,  except  such  parts  thereof  relating  to  treaties, 
alliances  or  military  operations,  as  in  their  judgment  require  secrecy  ; 
and  the  yeas  and  nays  of  the  delegates  of  each  state  on  any  question 
shall  be  entered  on  the  Journal,  when  it  is  desired  by  any  delegate ; 
and  the  delegates  of  a  state,  or  any  of  them,  at  his  or  their  request 
shall  be  furnished  with  a  transcript  of  the  said  Journal,  except  such 
parts  as  are  above  excepted,  to  lay  before  the  legislatures  of  the  sev- 
eral states. 

Article  X.  The  committee  of  the  states,  or  any  nine  of  them, 
shall  be  authorized  to  execute,  in  the  recess  of  congress,  such  of  the 
powers  of  congress  as  the  united  states  in  congress  assembled,  by 
the  consent  of  nine  states,  shall  from  time  to  time  think  expedient 
to  vest  them  with ;  provided  that  no  power  be  delegated  to  the  said 
committee,  for  the  exercise  of  which,  by  the  articles  of  confedera- 
tion, the  voice  of  nine  states  in  the  congress  of  the  united  states 
assembled  is  requisite. 

Article  XI.  Canada  acceding  to  this  confederation,  and  join- 
ing in  the  measures  of  the  united  states,  shall  be  admitted  into,  and 
entitled  to  all  the  advantages  of  this  union  :  but  no  other  colony  shall 
be  admitted  into  the  same,  unless  such  admission  be  agreed  to  by 
nine  states. 

Article  XII.  All  bills  of  credit  emitted,  monies  borrowed  and 
debts  contracted  by,  or  under  the  authority  of  congress,  before  the 
assembling  of  the  united  states,  in  pursuance  of  the  present  confed- 
eration, shall  be  deemed  and  considered  as  a  charge  against  the 
united  states,  for  payment  and  satisfaction  whereof  the  said  united 
states,  and  the  public  faith  are  hereby  solemnly  pledged. 

Article  XIII.  Every  state  shall  abide  by  the  determinations  of 
the  united  states  in  congress  assembled,  on  all  questions  which  by 


3i6 


Appendix. 


this  confederation  are  submitted  to  them.  And  the  Articles  of  this 
confederation  shall  be  inviolably  observed  by  every  state,  and  the 
union  shall  be  perpetual ;  nor  shall  any  alteration  at  any  time  here- 
after be  made  in  any  of  them  ;  unless  such  alteration  be  agreed  to  in 
a  congress  of  the  united  states,  and  be  afterwards  confirmed  by  the 
legislatures  of  every  state. 

•EnH  OTl)ereas  it  has  pleased  the  Great  Governor  of  the  World 
to  incline  the  hearts  of  the  legislatures  we  respectively  represent  in 
congress,  to  approve  of,  and  to  authorize  us  to  ratify  the  said  articles 
of  confederation  and  perpetual  union,  know  ye  that  we  the  under- 
signed delegates,  by  virtue  of  the  power  and  authority  to  us  given 
for  that  purpose,  do  by  these  presents,  in  the  name  and  in  behalf  of 
our  respective  constituents,  fully  and  entirely  ratify  and  confirm  each 
and  every  of  the  said  articles  of  confederation  and  perpetual  union, 
and  all  and  singular  the  matters  and  things  therein  contained :  And 
we  do  further  solemnly  plight  and  engage  the  faith  of  our  respective 
constituents,  that  they  shall  abide  by  the  determinations  of  the  united 
states  in  congress  assembled,  on  all  questions,  which  by  the  said 
confederation  are  submitted  to  them.  And  that  the  articles  thereof 
shall  be  inviolably  observed  by  the  states  we  respectively  represent, 
and  that  the  union  shall  be  perpetual.  In  witness  whereof  we  have 
hereunto  set  our  hands  in  Congress.  Done  at  Philadelphia  in  the 
state  of  Pennsylvania  the  ninth  Day  of  July  in  the  Year  of  our  Lord 
one  Thousand  seven  Hundred  and  Seventy  eight,  and  in  the  third 
year  of  the  independence  of  America. 


On  the  part  &  behalf  of 
the  State  of  Delaware 

On  the  part  and  behalf  of 
the  State  of  Maryland 


On  the  Part  and  Behalf  of 
the  State  of  Virginia 


On  the  part  and  Behalf  of 
the  State  of  No.  CaroHna 


fThos  M.  Kean  Feb.  12.  1779 
\  John  Dickinson,  May  5th  1779 
(  Nicholas  VanDyke, 

f  John  Hanson  March  ist  1 781 
\  Daniel  Carroll.  do. 

(Richard  Henry  Lee 
John  Bannister 
Thomas  Adams 
Jno  Harvie 
Francis  Lightfoot  Lee 

r  John  Penn  July  21st  1 778 
-j  Corns  Harnett 
[  Jno.  Williams 


Appendix, 


317 


On  the  part  and  behalf  of 
the  State  of  South-Caro-  - 
lina 


^  Henry  Laurens 

William  Henry  Drayton 

Jno.  Mathews 

Richd.  Hudson 
^  Thos.  Hey  ward  Junr. 


On  the  part  and  behalf  of  f  fe?  Walton  24th  July  1778 

the  State  of  Georgia  1  S^"^^" 

^  Edwd.  Langworthy. 

On  the  part  &  behalf  of  ( Josiah  Bartlett, 

the  State  of  New  Hamp-  -j  John  Wentworth  Junr  August  8th 

shire  (  1778 


On  the  part  and  behalf  of 
the  State  of  Massachu- 
setts Bay 


On  the  part  and  behalf  of 
the  State  of  Rhode- 
Island  and  Providence 
Plantations 

On  the  Part  and  behalf  of 
the  State  of  Connecti- 
cut 


On  the  Part  and  Behalf  of 
the  State  of  New  York 


John  Hancock. 
Samuel  Adams 
Elbridge  Gerry. 
Frances  Dana 
James  Lovell 
Samuel  Holten. 

(  William  Ellery 
-j  Henry  Marchant 
(  John  Collins 

(Roger  Sherman 
Samuel  Huntington 
Oliver  Wolcott 
Titus  Hosmer 
Andrew  Stearns 

{Jas.  Duane. 
Fras.  Lewis 
Wm  Duer. 
Gouv.  Morris, 


On  the  Part  and  in  Behalf  f  t  ^  Wi-fi,«ver^^^« 
Jersey.    Novr.  26,  1778 


On  the  part  and  behalf  of 
the  State  of  Pennsyl- 
vania 


{Robt  Morris. 
Daniel  Roberdeau 
Jon.  Bayard  Smith 
William  Clingan 
Joseph  Reed,  22nd  July  1778 


—  Manuscript  Roll  in  the  Library  of  the  Department 
of  State, 


3i8 


Appendix:""''^ 


March  i,  1781.    THE  CONFEDERATION  COMPLETED. 

According  to  the  order  of  the  day  the  Hon^^^  John  Hanson  and 
Daniel  Carroll  two  of  the  delegates  for  the  State  of  Maryland  in 
pursuance  of  the  act  of  the  legislature  of  that  state  entitled  ^^An 
Act  to  empower  the  delegates  of  this  state  in  Congress  to  sub- 
scribe and  ratify  the  Articles  of  Confederation "  which  was  read 
in  Congress  the  12  of  February  last  and  a  copy  thereof  entered 
on  the  minutes  did  in  behalf  of  the  said  state  of  IVIarylapd  sign 
and  ratify  the  said  articles,  by  which  act  the  Confederation  of  the 
United  States  of  America  was  con^eated,  each  and  every  of  the 
thirteen  united  states  from  Newhampshi^e  to  Georgia  both  included 
having  adopted  and  confirmed  and  by  their  delegates  in  Congress 
ratified  the  same.  — Manuscript  Journal  of  Congress^  Vol.  30. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  WITH 
THE  AMENDMENTS.! 

We  the  People  of  the  UnitedT^States,  in*^Order  to  form  a  more 
perfect  Union,  establish  Justice,  insure  domestic  Tranquility, 
provide  for  the  common  defence,  promote  the  general  Wel- 
fare, and  secure  the  Blessings  of  Liberty  to  ourselves  and  our 
Posterity,  do  ordain  and  establish  this  Constitution  for  the 
United  States  of  America. 


ARTICLE.  I. 

Section,  i.  All  legislative  Powers  herein  granted  shall  be 
vested  in  a  Congress  of  the  United  States,  which  shall  consist  of 
a  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives. 

Section.  2.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  be  composed 
of  Members  chosen  every  second  Year  by  the  People  of  the  several 

1  Reprinted  from  the  American  History  Leaflets^  No.  8,  published  by  A. 
Lovell  and  Co.,  New  York. 


Appendix, 


319 


States,  and  the  Electors  in  each  State  shall  have  the  Qualifications 
requisite  for  Electors  of  the  most  numerous  Branch  of  the  State 
Legislature. 

No  Person  shall  be  a  Representative  who  shall  not  have  attained 
to  the  Age  of  twenty  five  Years,  and  been  seven  Years  a  Citizen  of 
the  United  States,  and  who  shall  not,  when  elected,  be  an  Inhabitant 
of  that  State  in  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

Representatives  and  direct  Taxes  shall  be  apportioned  among 
the  several  States  which  may  be  included  within  this  Union,  accord- 
ing to  their  respective  Numbers,  which  shall  be  determined  by  add- 
ing to  the  whole  Number  of  free  Persons,  including  those  bound  to 
Service  for  a  Term  of  Years,  and  excluding  Indians  not  taxed,  three 
fifths  of  all  other  Persons.  The  actual  Enumeration  shall  be  made 
within  three  Years  after  the  first  Meeting  of  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States,  and  within  every  subsequent  Term  of  ten  Years,  in 
such  Manner  as  they  shall  by  Law  direct.  The  Number  of  Repre- 
sentatives shall  not  exceed  one  for  every  thirty  Thousand,  but 
each  State  shall  have  at  Least  one  Representative ;  and  until  such 
enumeration  shall  be  made,  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  shall  be 
entitled  to  chuse  three,  Massachusetts  eight,  Rhode-Island  and 
Providence  Plantations  one,  Connecticut  five,  New-York  six.  New 
Jersey  four,  Pennsylvania  eight,  Delaware  one,  Maryland  six,  Vir- 
ginia ten,  North  Carolina  five,  South  Carolina  five,  and  Georgia 
three. 

When  vacancies  happen  in  the  Representation  from  any  State, 
the  Executive  Authority  thereof  shall  issue  Writs  of  Election  to 
fill  such  Vacancies. 

The  House  of  Representatives  shall  chuse  their  Speaker  and 
other  Officers;  and  shall  have  the  sole  Power  of  Impeachment. 

Section.  3.  The  Senate  of  the  United  States  shall  be  com- 
posed of  two  Senators  from  each  State,  chosen  by  the  Legislature 
thereof,  for  six  Years ;  and  each  Senator  shall  have  one  Vote. 

Immediately  after  they  shall  be  assembled  in  Consequence  of 
the  first  Election,  they  shall  be  divided  as  equally  as  may  be  into 
three  Classes.  The  Seats  of  the  Senators  of  the  first  Class  shall 
be  vacated  at  the  Expiration  of  the  second  Year,  of  the  second 
Class  at  the  Expiration  of  the  fourth  Year,  and  of  the  third  Class 
at  the  Expiration  of  the  sixth  Year,  so  that  one  third  may  be 


320 


Appendix, 


chosen  every  second  Year;  and  if  Vacancies  happen  by  Resigna- 
tion, or  otherwise,  during  the  Recess  of  the  Legislature  of  any 
State,  the  Executive  thereof  may  make  temporary  Appointments 
until  the  next  Meeting  of  the  Legislature,  which  shall  then  fill  such 
Vacancies. 

No  Person  shall  be  a  Senator  who  shall  not  have  attained  to  the 
Age  of  thirty  Years,  and  been  nine  Years  a  Citizen  of  the  United 
States,  and  who  shall  not,  when  elected,  be  an  Inhabitant  of  that 
State  for  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

The  Vice  President  of  the  United  States  shall  be  President 
of  the  Senate,  but  shall  have  no  Vote,  unless  they  be  equally 
divided. 

The  Senate  shall  chuse  their  other  Officers,  and  also  a  President 
pro  tempore,  in  the  Absence  of  the  Vice  President,  or  when  he 
shall  exercise  the  Office  of  President  of  the  United  States. 

The  Senate  shall  have  the  sole  Power  to  try  all  Impeachments. 
When  sitting  for  that  Purpose,  they  shall  be  on  Oath  or  Affirma- 
tion. When  the  President  of  the  United  States  is  tried,  the  Chief 
Justice  shall  preside :  And  no  Person  shall  be  convicted  without  the 
Concurrence  of  two  thirds  of  the  Members  present. 

Judgment  in  Cases  of  Impeachment  shall  not  extend  further 
than  to  removal  from  Office,  and  disqualification  to  hold  and  enjoy 
any  Office  of  honor.  Trust  or  Profit  under  the  United  States : 
but  the  Party  convicted  shall  nevertheless  be  liable  and  subject 
to  Indictment,  Trial,  Judgment  and  Punishment,  according  to 
Law. 

Section.  4.  The  Times,  Places  and  Manner  of  holding  Elec- 
tions for  Senators  and  Representatives,  shall  be  prescribed  in  each 
State  by  the  Legislature  thereof;  but  the  Congress  may  at  any 
time  by  Law  make  or  alter  such  Regulations,  except  as  to  the 
Places  of  chusing  Senators. 

The  Congress  shall  assemble  at  least  once  in  every  Year,  and 
such  Meeting  shall  be  on  the  first  Monday  in  December,  unless 
they  shall  by  Law  appoint  a  different  Day. 

Section.  5.  Each  house  shall  be  the  Judge  of  the  Elections, 
Returns  and  Qualifications  of  its  own  Members,  and  a  Majority 
of  each  shall  constitute  a  Quorum  to  do  Business ;  but  a  smaller 
Number  may  adjourn  from  day  to  day,  and  may  be  authorized  to 


Appendix. 


321 


compel  the  Attendance  of  absent  Members,  in  such  Manner,  and 
under  such  Penalties  as  each  House  may  provide. 

Each  House  may  determine  the  Rules  of  its  Proceedings,  punish 
its  Members  for  disorderly  Behaviour,  and,  with  the  Concurrence  of 
two  thirds,  expel  a  Member. 

Each  House  shall  keep  a  Journal  of  its  Proceedings,  and  from 
time  to  time  publish  the  same,  excepting  such  Parts  as  may  in  their 
Judgment  require  Secrecy ;  and  the  Yeas  and  Nays  of  the  Members 
of  either  House  on  any  question  shall,  at  the  Desire  of  one  fifth  of 
those  Present,  be  entered  on  the  Journal. 

Neither  House,  during  the  Session  of  Congress,  shall,  without 
the  Consent  of  the  other,  adjourn  for  more  than  three  days,  nor 
to  any  other  Place  than  that  in  which  the  two  Houses  shall  be 
sitting. 

Section.  6.  The  Senators  and  Representatives  shall  receive  a 
Compensation  for  their  Services,  to  be  ascertained  by  Law,  and 
paid  out  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States.  They  shall  in 
all  Cases,  except  Treason,  Felony  and  Breach  of  the  Peace,  be 
privileged  from  Arrest  during  their  Attendance  at  the  Session 
of  their  respective  Houses,  and  in  going  to  and  returning  from  the 
same and  for  any  Speech  or  Debate  in  either  House,  they  shall 
not  be  questioned  in  ajiy  other  Place. 

No  Senator  or  Representative  shall,  during  the  Time  for  which 
he  was  elected,  be  appointed  to  any  civil  Office  under  the 
Authority  of  the  United  States,  which  shall  have  been  created, 
or  the  Emoluments  whereof  shall  have  been  encreased  during 
such  time ;  and  no  Person  holding  any  Office  under  the  United 
States,  shall  be  a  Member  of  either  House  during  his  Continuance 
in  Office. 

Section.  7.  All  Bills  for  raising  Revenue  shall  originate  in  the 
House  of  Representatives ;  but  the  Senate  may  propose  or  concur 
with  Amendments  as  on  other  Bills. 

Every  Bill  which  shall  have  passed  the  House  of  Represen- 
tatives and  the  Senate,  shall,  before  it  become  a  Law,  be  presented 
to  the  President  of  the  United  States ;  If  he  approve  he  shall 
sign  it,  but  if  not  he  shall  return  it,  with  his  Objections  to  that 
House  in  which  it  shall  have  originated,  who  shall  enter  the 
Objections  at  large  on  their  Journal,  and  proceed  to  reconsider 

C.A.  21 


322 


Appendix. 


it.  If  after  such  Reconsideration  two  thirds  of  that  House  shall 
agree  to  pass  the  Bill,  it  shall  be  sent,  together  with  the  Objections, 
to  the  other  House,  by  which  it  shall  likewise  be  reconsidered,  and 
if  approved  by  two  thirds  of  that  House,  it  shall  become  a  Law. 
But  in  all  such  Cases  the  Votes  of  both  Houses  shall  be  deter- 
mined by  Yeas  and  Nays,  and  the  Names  of  the  Persons  voting 
for  and  against  the  Bill  shall  be  entered  on  the  Journal  of  each 
House  respectively.  If  any  Bill  shall  not  be  returned  by  the 
President  within  ten  Days  (Sundays  excepted)  after  it  shall  have 
been  presented  to  him,  the  same  shall  be  a  Law,  in  like  Manner 
as  if  he  had  signed  it,  unless  the  Congress  by  their  Adjournment 
prevent  its  Return,  in  which  Case  it  shall  not  be  a  Law. 

Every  Order,  Resolution,  or  Vote  to  which  the  Concurrence 
of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  may  be  necessary 
(except  on  a  question  of  Adjournment)  shall  be  presented  to  the 
President  of  the  United  States ;  and  before  the  same  shall  take 
Effect,  shall  be  approved  by  him,  or  being  disapproved  by  him, 
shall  be  repassed  by  two  thirds  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, according  to  the  Rules  and  Limitations  prescribed  in 
the  Case  of  a  Bill. 

Section.  8.  The  Congress  shall  have  Power  To  lay  and 
collect  Taxes,  Duties,  Imposts  and  Excises,  to  pay  the  Debts  and 
provide  for  the  common  Defence  and  general  Welfare  of  the 
United  States ;  but  all  Duties,  Imposts  and  Excises  shall  be  uni- 
form throughout  the  United  States ; 

To  borrow  Money  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States ; 

To  regulate  Commerce  with  foreign  Nations,  and  among  the 
several  States,  and  with  the  Indian  Tribes ; 

To  establish  an  uniform  Rule  of  Naturalization,  and  uniform 
Laws  on  the  subject  of  Bankruptcies  throughout  the  United  States ; 

To  coin  Money,  regulate  the  Value  thereof,  and  of  foreign  Coin, 
and  fix  the  Standard  of  Weights  and  Measures ; 

To  provide  for  the  Punishment  of  counterfeiting  the  Securities 
and  current  Coin  of  the  United  States ; 

To  establish  Post  Offices  and  post  Roads ; 

To  promote  the  Progress  of  Science  and  useful  Arts,  by  secur- 
ing for  limited  Times  to  Authors  and  Inventors  the  exclusive  Right 
to  their  respective  Writings  and  Discoveries ; 


Appendix, 


323 


To  constitute  Tribunals  inferior  to  the  supreme  Court ; 

To  define  and  punish  Piracies  and  Felonies  committed  on  the 
high  Seas,  and  Offences  against  the  Law  of  Nations ; 

To  declare  War,  grant  Letters  of  Marque  and  Reprisal,  and 
make  Rules  concerning  Captures  on  Land  and  Water ; 

To  raise  and  support  Armies,  but  no  Appropriation  of  Money  to 
that  Use  shall  be  for  a  longer  term  than  two  Years ; 

To  provide  and  maintain  a  Navy ; 

To  make  Rules  for  the  Government  and  Regulation  of  the  land 
and  naval  Forces ; 

To  provide  for  calling  forth  the  Militia  to  execute  the  Laws  of 
the  Union,  suppress  Insurrections  and  repel  Invasions ; 

To  provide  for  organising,  arming,  and  disciplining,  the  Militia, 
and  for  governing  such  Part  of  them  as  may  be  employed  in  the 
Service  of  the  United  States,  reserving  to  the  States  respectively, 
the  Appointment  of  the  Officers,  and  the  Authority  of  training  the 
Militia  according  to  the  discipline  prescribed  by  Congress ; 

To  exercise  exclusive  Legislation  in  all  Cases  whatsoever,  over 
such  District  (not  exceeding  ten  Miles  square)  as  may,  by  Cession 
of  particular  States,  and  the  Acceptance  of  Congress,  become  the 
Seat  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  and  to  exercise  like 
Authority  over  all  Places  purchased  by  the  Consent  of  the  Legis- 
lature of  the  State  in  which  the  same  shall  be,  for  the  Erection  of 
Forts,  Magazines,  Arsenals,  dock-Yards,  and  other  needful  Build- 
ings ;  —  And 

To  make  all  Laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and  proper  for 
carrying  into  Execution  the  foregoing  Powers,  and  all  other  Powers 
vested  by  this  Constitution  in  the  Government  of  the  United  States, 
or  in  any  Department  or  Officer  thereof. 

Section.  9.  The  Migration  or  Importation  of  such  Persons 
as  any  of  the  States  now  existing  shall  think  proper  to  admit, 
shall  not  be  prohibited  by  the  Congress  prior  to  the  Year  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight,  but  a  Tax  or  duty  may  be 
imposed  on  such  Importation,  not  exceeding  ten  dollars  for  each 
Person. 

The  Privilege  of  the  Writ  of  Habeas  Corpus  shall  not  be  sus- 
pended, unless  when  in  Cases  of  Rebellion  or  Invasion  the  public 
Safety  may  require  it. 

21 — 2 


324 


Appendix, 


No  Bill  of  Attainder  or  ex  post  facto  Law  shall  be  passed. 

No  Capitation,  or  other  direct,  Tax  shall  be  laid,  unless  in  Pro- 
poidon  to  the  Census  or  Enumeration  herein  before  directed  to  be 
taken. 

No  Tax  or  Duty  shall  be  laid  on  Articles  exported  from  any 
State. 

No  Preference  shall  be  given  by  any  Regulation  of  Commerce 
or  Revenue  to  the  Ports  of  one  State  over  those  of  another :  nor 
shall  Vessels  bound  to,  or  from,  one  State,  be  obliged  to  enter, 
clear,  or  pay  Duties  in  another. 

No  Money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  Treasury,  but  in  Conse- 
quence of  Appropriations  made  by  Law ;  and  a  regular  Statement 
and  Account  of  the  Receipts  and  Expenditures  of  all  public  Money 
shall  be  published  from  time  to  time. 

No  Title  of  Nobility  shall  be  granted  by  the  United  States : 
And  no  Person  holding  any  Office  of  Profit  or  Trust  under  them, 
shall,  without  the  Consent  of  the  Congress,  accept  of  any  present, 
Emolument,  Office,  or  Title,  of  any  kind  whatever,  from  any  King, 
Prince,  or  foreign  State. 

Section,  io.  No  State  shall  enter  into  any  Treaty,  Alliance, 
or  Confederation ;  grant  Letters  of  Marque  and  Reprisal ;  coin 
Money ;  emit  Bills  of  Credit ;  make  any  Thing  but  gold  and  silver 
Coin  a  Tender  in  Payment  of  Debts  ;  pass  any  Bill  of  Attainder,  ex 
post  facto  Law,  or  Law  impairing  the  Obligation  of  Contracts,  or 
grant  any  Title  of  Nobility. 

No  State  shall,  without  the  Consent  of  the  Congress,  lay  any 
Imposts  or  Duties  on  Imports  or  Exports,  except  what  may  be 
absolutely  necessary  for  executing  its  inspection  Laws :  and  the 
net  Produce  of  all  Duties  and  Imposts,  laid  by  any  State  on 
Imports  or  Exports,  shall  be  for  the  Use  of  the  Treasury  of  the 
United  States ;  and  all  such  Laws  shall  be  subject  to  the  Revision 
and  Controul  of  the  Congress. 

No  State  shall,  without  the  Consent  of  Congress,  lay  any  Duty 
of  Tonnage,  keep  Troops,  or  Ships  of  War  in  time  of  Peace,  enter 
into  any  Agreement  or  Compact  with  another  State,  or  with  a  for- 
eign Power,  or  engage  in  War,  unless  actually  invaded,  or  in  such 
imminent  Danger  as  will  not  admit  of  delay. 


Appendix, 


32s 


ARTICLE.  II. 

Section,  i.  The  executive  Power  shall  be  vested  in  a  President 
of  the  United  States  of  America.  He  shall  hold  his  Office  durino^ 
the  Term  of  four  Years,  and,  together  with  the  Vice  President, 
chosen  for  the  same  Term,  be  elected,  as  follows 

Each  State  shall  appoint,  in  such  Manner  as  the  Legislature 
thereof  may  direct,  a  Number  of  Electors,  equal  to  the  whole  Num- 
ber of  Senators  and  Representatives  to  which  the  State  may  be 
entitled  in  the  Congress :  but  no  Senator  or  Representative,  or  Per- 
son holding  an  Office  of  Trust  or  Profit  under  the  United  States, 
shall  be  appointed  an  Elector. 

The  Electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  States,  and  vote  by 
Ballot  for  two  Persons,  of  whom  one  at  least  shall  not  be  an 
Inhabitant  of  the  same  State  with  themselves.  And  they  shall 
make  a  List  of  all  the  Persons  voted  for,  and  of  the  Number  of 
Votes  for  each ;  which  List  they  shall  sign  and  certify,  and  transmit 
sealed  to  the  Seat  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  directed 
to  the  President  of  the  Senate.  The  President  of  the  Senate  shall, 
in  the  Presence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  open  all 
the  Certificates,  and  the  Votes  shall  then  be  counted.  The  Person 
having  the  greatest  Number  of  Votes  shall  be  the  President,  if  such 
Number  be  a  Majority  of  the  whole  Number  of  Electors  appointed  ; 
and  if  there  be  more  than  one  who  have  such  Majority,  and  have 
an  equal  Number  of  Votes,  then  the  House  of  Representatives  shall 
immediately  chuse  by  Ballot  one  of  them  for  President ;  and  if  no 
Person  have  a  Majority,  then  from  the  five  highest  on  the  List  the 
said  House  shall  in  like  Manner  chuse  the  President.  But  in  chus- 
ing  the  President,  the  Votes  shall  be  taken  by  States,  the  Repre- 
sentation from  each  State  having  one  Vote ;  A  quorum  for  this 
Purpose  shall  consist  of  a  Member  or  Members  from  two  thirds  of 
the  States,  and  a  Majority  of  all  the  States  shall  be  necessary  to  a 
Choice.  In  every  Case,  after  the  Choice  of  the  President,  the  Per- 
son having  the  greatest  Number  of  Votes  of  the  Electors  shall  be 
the  Vice  President.  But  if  there  should  remain  two  or  more  who 
have  equal  Votes,  the  Senate  shall  chuse  from  them  by  Ballot  the 
Vice  President. 

The  Congress  may  determine  the  Time  of  chusing  the  Electors, 


326 


Appendix, 


and  the  Day  on  which  they  shall  give  their  Votes ;  which  Day  shall 
be  the  same  throughout  the  United  States. 

No  Person  except  a  natural  born  Citizen,  or  a  Citizen  of  the 
United  States,  at  the  time  of  the  Adoption  of  this  Constitution, 
shall  be  eligible  to  the  Office  of  President ;  neither  shall  any 
Person  be  eligible  to  that  Office  who  shall  not  have  attained  to 
the  Age  of  thirty-five  Years,  and  been  fourteen  Years  a  Resident 
within  the  United  States. 

In  Case  of  the  Removal  of  the  President  from  Office,  or  of  his 
Death,  Resignation,  or  Inability  to  discharge  the  Powers  and  Duties 
of  the  said  Office,  the  Same  shall  devolve  on  the  Vice  President, 
and  the  Congress  may  by  Law  provide  for  the  Case  of  Removal, 
Death,  Resignation,  or  Inability,  both  of  the  President  and  Vice 
President,  declaring  what  Officer  shall  then  act  as  President,  and 
such  Officer  shall  act  accordingly,  until  the  Disability  be  removed, 
or  a  President  shall  be  elected. 

The  President  shall,  at  stated  Times,  receive  for  his  Services, 
a  Compensation,  which  shall  neither  be  encreased  nor  diminished 
during  the  Period  for  which  he  shall  have  been  elected,  and  he 
shall  not  receive  within  that  Period  any  other  Emolument  from  the 
United  States,  or  any  of  them. 

Before  he  enter  on  the  Execution  of  his  Office,  he  shall  take  the 
following  Oath  or  Affirmation  :  — 

I  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  will  faithfully  execute 
the  Office  of  President  of  the  United  States,  and  will  to  the  best 
of  my  Ability,  preserve,  protect  and  defend  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States.'' 

Section.  2.  The  President  shall  be  Commander  in  Chief  of 
the  Army  and  Navy  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  Militia  of 
the  several  States,  when  called  into  the  actual  Service  of  the  United 
States ;  he  may  require  the  Opinion,  in  writing,  of  the  principal 
Officer  in  each  of  the  executive  Departments,  upon  any  Subject 
relating  to  the  Duties  of  their  respective  Offices,  and  he  shall  have 
Power  to  grant  Reprieves  and  Pardons  for  Offences  against  the 
United  States,  except  in  Cases  of  Impeachment. 

He  shall  have  Power,  by  and  with  the  Advice  and  Consent  of 
the  Senate,  to  make  Treaties,  provided  two  thirds  of  the  Senators 
present  concur;  and  he  shall  nominate,  and  by  and  with  the 


Appendix. 


327 


Advice  and  Consent  of  the  Senate,  shall  appoint  Ambassadors, 
other  public  Ministers  and  Consuls,  Judges  of  the  supreme  Court, 
and  all  other  Officers  of  the  United  States,  whose  Appointments 
are  not  herein  otherwise  provided  for,  and  which  shall  be  established 
by  Law :  but  the  Congress  may  by  Law  vest  the  Appointment  of 
such  inferior  Officers,  as  they  think  proper,  in  the  President  alone, 
in  the  Courts  of  Law,  or  in  the  Heads  of  Departments. 

The  President  shall  have  Power  to  fill  up  all  Vacancies  that 
may  happen  during  the  Recess  of  the  Senate,  by  granting  Com- 
missions which  shall  expire  at  the  End  of  their  next  Session. 

Section.  3.  He  shall  from  lime  to  time  give  to  the  Congress 
Information  of  the  State  of  the  Union,  and  recommend  to  their 
Consideration  such  Measures  as  he  shall  judge  necessary  and 
expedient ;  he  may,  on  extraordinary  Occasions,  convene  both 
Houses,  or  either  of  them,  and  in  Case  of  Disagreement  between 
them,  with  Respect  to  the  Time  of  Adjournment,  he  may  adjourn 
them  to  such  Time  as  he  shall  think  proper ;  he  shall  receive  Am- 
bassadors and  other  public  Ministers ;  he  shall  take  Care  that  the 
Laws  be  faithfully  executed,  and  shall  Commission  all  the  Officers 
of  the  United  States. 

Section.  4.  The  President,  Vice  President  and  all  civil  Officers 
of  the  United  States,  shall  be  removed  from  Office  on  Impeach- 
ment for,  and  Conviction  of.  Treason,  Bribery,  or  other  high  Crimes 
and  Misdemeanors. 

ARTICLE.  III. 

Section,  i.  The  judicial  Power  of  the  United  States,  shall 
be  vested  in  one  supreme  Court,  and  in  such  inferior  Courts  as 
the  Congress  may  from  time  to  time  ordain  and  establish.  The 
Judges,  both  of  the  supreme  and  inferior  Courts,  shall  hold  their 
Offices  during  good  Behaviour,  and  shall,  at  stated  Times,  receive 
for  their  Services,  a  Compensation,  which  shall  not  be  diminished 
during  their  Continuance  in  Office. 

Section.  2.  The  judicial  Power  shall  extend  to  all  Cases,  in 
Law  and  Equity,  arising  under  this  Constitution,  the  Laws  of  the 
United  States,  and  Treaties  made,  or  which  shall  be  made,  under 
their  Authority  ;  —  to  all  Cases  affecting  Ambassadors,  other  public 
Ministers  and  Consuls; — to  all  Cases  of  admiralty  and  maritime 


328 


Appendix. 


Jurisdiction;  —  to  Controversies  to  which  the  United  States  shall 
be  a  Party ;  —  to  Controversies  between  two  or  more  States  ;  —  be- 
tween a  State  and  Citizens  of  another  State ;  —  between  Citizens 
of  different  States,  —  between  Citizens  of  the  same  State  claiming 
Lands  under  Grants  of  different  States,  and  between  a  State,  or 
the  Citizens  thereof,  and  foreign  States,  Citizens  or  Subjects. 

In  all  Cases  affecting  Ambassadors,  other  public  Ministers  and 
Consuls,  and  those  in  which  a  State  shall  be  Party,  the  supreme 
Court  shall  have  original  Jurisdiction.  In  all  the  other  Cases 
before  mentioned,  the  supreme  Court  shall  have  appellate  Juris- 
diction, both  as  to  Law  and  Fact,  with  such  Exceptions,  and  under 
such  Regulations  as  the  Congress  shall  make. 

The  Trial  of  all  Crimes,  except  in  Cases  of  Impeachment,  shall 
be  by  Jury ;  and  such  Trial  shall  be  held  in  the  State  where  the 
said  Crimes  shall  have  been  committed ;  but  when  not  committed 
within  any  State,  the  Trial  shall  be  at  such  Place  or  Places  as  the 
Congress  may  by  Law  have  directed. 

Section.  3.  Treason  against  the  United  States,  shall  consist 
only  in  levying  War  against  them,  or  in  adhering  to  their  Enemies, 
giving  them  Aid  and  Comfort.  No  Person  shall  be  convicted  of 
Treason  unless  on  the  Testimony  of  two  Witnesses  to  the  same 
overt  Act,  or  on  Confession  in  open  Court. 

The  Congress  shall  have  Power  to  declare  the  Punishment  of 
Treason,  but  no  Attainder  of  Treason  shall  work  Corruption  of 
Blood,  or  Forfeiture  except  during  the  Life  of  the  Person  attainted. 

ARTICLE.  IV. 

Section,  i.  Full  Faith  and  Credit  shall  be  given  in  each 
State  to  the  public  Acts,  Records,  and  judicial  Proceedings  of  every 
other  State.  And  the  Congress  may  by  general  Laws  prescribe 
the  Manner  in  which  such  Acts,  Records  and  Proceedings  shall  be 
proved,  and  the  Effect  thereof. 

Section.  2.  The  Citizens  of  each  State  shall  be  entitled  to 
all  Privileges  and  Immunities  of  Citizens  in  the  several  States. 

A  Person  charged  in  any  State  with  Treason,  Felony,  or  other 
Crime,  who  shall  flee  from  Justice,  and  be  found  in  another  State, 
shall  on  Demand  of  the  executive  Authority  of  the  State  from 


Appendix, 


329 


which  he  fled,  be  delivered  up,  to  be  removed  to  the  State  having 
Jurisdiction  of  the  Crime. 

No  person  held  to  Service  or  Labour  in  one  State,  under  the 
Laws  thereof,  escaping  into  another,  shall,  in  Consequence  of  any 
Law  or  Regulation  therein,  be  discharged  from  such  Service  or 
Labour,  but  shall  be  delivered  up  on  Claim  of  the  Party  to  whom 
such  Service  or  Labour  may  be  due. 

Section.  3.  New  States  may  be  admitted  by  the  Congress 
into  this  Union ;  but  no  new  State  shall  be  formed  or  erected 
within  the  Jurisdiction  of  any  other  State ;  nor  any  State  be 
formed  by  the  Junction  of  two  or  more  States,  or  Parts  of  States, 
without  the  Consent  of  the  Legislatures  of  the  States  concerned 
as  well  as  of  the  Congress. 

The  Congress  shall  have  Power  to  dispose  of  and  make  all 
needful  Rules  and  Regulations  respecting  the  Territory  or  other 
Property  belonging  to  the  United  States ;  and  nothing  in  this 
Constitution  shall  be  so  construed  as  to  Prejudice  any  Claims  of 
the  United  States,  or  of  any  particular  State. 

Section.  4.  The  United  States  shall  guarantee  to  every  State 
in  this  Union  a  Republican  Form  of  Government,  and  shall  pro- 
tect each  of  them  against  Invasion ;  and  on  Application  of  the 
Legislature,  or  of  the  Executive  (when  the  Legislature  cannot  be 
convened)  against  domestic  Violence. 

ARTICLE.  V. 

The  Congress,  whenever  two  thirds  of  both  Houses  shall  deem 
it  necessary,  shall  propose  Amendments  to  this  Constitution,  or, 
on  the  Application  of  the  Legislatures  of  two  thirds  of  the  several 
States,  shall  call  a  Convention  for  proposing  Amendments,  which, 
in  either  Case,  shall  be  valid  to  all  Intents  and  Purposes,  as  Part 
of  this  Constitution,  when  ratified  by  the  Legislatures  of  three 
fourths  of  the  several  States,  or  by  Conventions  in  three  fourths 
thereof,  as  the  one  or  the  other  Mode  of  Ratification  may  be 
proposed  by  the  Congress ;  Provided  that  no  Amendment  which 
may  be  made  prior  to  the  Year  One  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
eight  shall  in  any  Manner  aifect  the  first  and  fourth  Clauses  in  the 
Ninth  Section  of  the  first  Article ;  and  that  no  State,  without  its 
Consent,  shall  be  deprived  of  its  equal  Suffrage  in  the  Senate. 


330 


Appendix. 


ARTICLE.  VI. 

All  Debts  contracted  and  Engagements  entered  into,  before 
the  Adoption  of  this  Constitution,  shall  be  as  valid  against  the 
United  States  under  this  Constitution,  as  under  the  Confederation. 

This  Constitution,  and  the  Laws  of  the  United  States  which 
shall  be  made  in  Pursuance  thereof ;  and  all  Treaties  made,  or 
which  shall  be  made,  under  the  Authority  of  the  United  States, 
shall  be  the  supreme  Law  of  the  Land ;  and  the  Judges  in  every 
State  shall  be  bound  thereby,  any  Thing  in  the  Constitution  or 
Laws  of  any  State  to  the  Contrary  notwithstanding. 

The  Senators  and  Representatives  before  mentioned,  and  the 
Members  of  the  several  State  Legislatures,  and  all  executive  and 
judicial  Officers,  both  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  several 
States,  shall  be  bound  by  Oath  or  Affirmation,  to  support  this 
Constitution ;  but  no  religious  Test  shall  ever  be  required  as 
a  Qualification  to  any  Office  or  public  Trust  under  the  United 
States. 

ARTICLE.  VII. 

The  Ratification  of  the  Conventions  of  nine  States,  shall  be 
sufficient  for  the  Establishment  of  this  Constitution  between  the 
States  so  ratifying  the  Same. 

Done  in  Convention  by  the  Unanimous  Consent  of 
[Note  of  the  draughtsman      the  States  present  the  Seventeenth  Day  of  September 
as  to  interlineations  in  the       in  the  Year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  seven  hundred 
text  of  the  manuscript.]  and  Eighty  seven  and  of  the  Independence  of  the 

^tjggj  United  States  of  America  the  Twelfth  JEn  IJHitneSS 

__-  ^  whereof  We  have  hereunto  subscribed  our  names. 

William  Jackson 

Secretary,  G°  WASHINGTON- 

Presidt  and  deputy  from  Virginia, 

[The  authenticity  of  the  instrument  was  further  attested  by  the  signatures  of 
thirty-eight  members.] 

THE  AMENDMENTS. 

ARTICLES  in  addition  to  and  Amendment  of  the  Constitution 

of  the  United  States  of  America,  proposed  by  Congress,  and 

ratified  by  the  Legislatures  of  the  several  States,  pursuant  to 

the  fifth  Article  of  the  original  Constitution.^ 

1  This  heading  appears  only  in  the  joint  resolution  submitting  the  first  ten 
amendments. 


Appendix, 


331 


[ARTICLE  I.] 

Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establishment  of 
religion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof ;  or  abridging  the 
freedom  of  speech,  or  of  the  press ;  or  the  right  of  the  people 
peaceably  to  assemble,  and  to  petition  the  Government  for  a  redress 
of  grievances. 

[ARTICLE  IL] 

A  well  regulated  Militia,  being  necessary  to  the  security  of  a 
free  State,  the  right  of  the  people  to  keep  and  bear  Arms,  shall  not 
be  infringed. 

[ARTICLE  III.] 

No  Soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace  be  quartered  in  any  house, 
without  the  consent  of  the  Owner,  nor  in  time  of  war,  but  in  a 
manner  to  be  prescribed  by  law. 

[ARTICLE  IV.] 

The  right  of  the  people  to  be  secure  in  their  persons,  houses, 
papers,  and  effects,  against  unreasonable  searches  and  seizures, 
shall  not  be  violated,  and  no  Warrants  shall  issue,  but  upon 
probable  cause,  supported  by  Oath  or  affirmation,  and  particularly 
describing  the  place  to  be  searched,  and  the  persons  or  things  to 
be  seized. 

[ARTICLE  v.] 

No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for  a  capital,  or  otherwise 
infamous  crime,  unless  on  a  presentment  or  indictment  of  a  Grand 
Jury,  except  in  cases  arising  in  the  land  or  naval  forces,  or  in 
the  Militia,  when  in  actual  service  in  time  of  War  or  public 
danger ;  nor  shall  any  person  be  subject  for  the  same  offence  to  be 
twice  put  in  jeopardy  of  life  or  limb ;  nor  shall  be  compelled  in 
any  criminal  case  to  be  a  witness  against  himself,  nor  be  de- 
prived of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due  process  of  law; 
nor  shall  private  property  be  taken  for  public  use,  without  just 
compensation. 


332 


Appendix. 


[ARTICLE  VI.] 
In  all  criminal  prosecutions  the  accused  shall  enjoy  the  right  to 
a  speedy  and  public  trial,  by  an  impartial  jury  of  the  State  and 
district  wherein  the  crime  shall  have  been  committed,  which  dis- 
trict shall  have  been  previously  ascertained  by  law,  and  to  be 
informed  of  the  nature  and  cause  of  the  accusation ;  to  be  con- 
fronted with  the  witnesses  against  him ;  to  have  compulsory  pro- 
cess for  obtaining  witnesses  in  his  favor,  and  to  have  the  Assistance 
of  Counsel  for  his  defence. 

[ARTICLE  VII.] 
In  suits  at  common  law,  where  the  value  in  controversy  shall 
exceed  twenty  dollars,  the  right  of  trial  by  jury  shall  be  preserved, 
and  no  fact  tried  by  a  jury  shall  be  otherwise  re-examined  in  any 
Court  of  the  United  States,  than  according  to  the  rules  of  the 
common  law. 

[ARTICLE  VIII.] 
Excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required,  nor  excessive  fines  imposed, 
nor  cruel  and  unusual  punishments  inflicted. 

[ARTICLE  IX.] 
The  enumeration  in  the  Constitution,  of  certain  rights,  shall 
not  be  construed  to  deny  or  disparage  others  retained  by  the 
people. 

[ARTICLE  X.] 

The  powers  not  delegated  to  the  United  States  by  the  Consti- 
tution, nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the  States,  are  reserved  to  the  States 
respectively  or  to  the  people.^ 

[ARTICLE  XL] 

The  Judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  not  be  construed 
to  extend  to  any  suit  in  law  or  equity,  commenced  or  prosecuted 
against  one  of  the  United  States  by  Citizens  of  another  State,  or  by 
Citizens  or  Subjects  of  any  Foreign  State. ^ 

^  Amendments  First  to  Tenth  appear  to  have  been  in  force  from  Nov.  3, 
1791. 

2  Proclaimed  to  be  in  force  Jan.  8,  1798. 


Appendix. 


333 


[ARTICLE  XII.] 

The  Electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  states,  and  vote  by 
ballot  for  President  and  Vice-President,  one  of  whom,  at  least, 
shall  not  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  same  state  with  themselves ;  they 
shall  name  in  their  ballots  the  person  voted  for  as  President,  and 
in  distinct  ballots  the  person  voted  for  as  Vice-President,  and  they 
shall  make  distinct  lists  of  all  persons  voted  for  as  President, 
and  of  all  persons  voted  for  as  Vice-President,  and  of  the  number 
of  votes  for  each,  which  lists  they  shall  sign  and  certify,  and 
transmit  sealed  to  the  seat  of  the  government  of  the  United  States, 
directed  to  the  President  of  the  Senate ;  —  The  President  of  the 
Senate  shall,  in  the  presence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, open  all  the  certificates  and  the  votes  shall  then  be 
counted;  —  The  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  for 
President,  shall  be  the  President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority 
of  the  whole  number  of  Electors  appointed  ;  and  if  no  person  have 
such  majority,  then  from  the  persons  having  the  highest  numbers 
not  exceeding  three  on  the  list  of  those  voted  for  as  President, 
the  House  of  Representatives  shall  choose  immediately,  by  ballot, 
the  President.  But  in  choosing  the  President,  the  votes  shall 
be  taken  by  states,  the  representation  from  each  state  having 
one  vote ;  a  quorum  for  this  purpose  shall  consist  of  a  member 
or  members  from  two-thirds  of  the  states,  and  a  majority  of  all 
the  states  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice.  And  if  the  House  of 
Representatives  shall  not  choose  a  President  whenever  the  right 
of  choice  shall  devolve  upon  them,  before  the  fourth  day  of  March 
next  following,  then  the  Vice-President  shall  act  as  President, 
as  in  the  case  of  the  death  or  other  constitutional  disability  of 
the  President.  —  The  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes 
as  Vice-President,  shall  be  the  Vice-President,  if  such  number 
be  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of  Electors  appointed,  and 
if  no  person  have  a  majority,  then  from  the  two  highest  numbers 
on  the  list,  the  Senate  shall  choose  the  Vice-President ;  a  quorum 
for  the  purpose  shall  consist  of  two-thirds  of  the  whole  number 
of  Senators,  and  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  shall  be  necessary 
to  a  choice.    But  no  person  constitutionally  ineligible  to  the  office 


334  Appendix, 

of  President  shall  be  eligible  to  that  of  Vice-President  of  th3  United 
States.i 

ARTICLE  XIII. 

Section  i.  Neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude,  except 
as  a  punishment  for  crime  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly 
convicted,  shall  exist  within  the  United  States,  or  any  place  subject 
to  their  jurisdiction.  Section  2.  Congress  shall  have  power  to 
enforce  this  article  by  appropriate  legislation. ^ 

ARTICLE  XIV. 

Section  i.  All  persons  born  or  naturalized  in  the  United 
States,  and  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  thereof,  are  citizens  of  the 
United  States  and  of  the  State  wherein  they  reside.  No  State 
shall  make  or  enforce  any  law  which  shall  abridge  the  privileges 
or  immunities  of  citizens  of  the  United  States ;  nor  shall  any  State 
deprive  any  person  of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due  process 
of  law ;  nor  deny  to  any  person  within  its  jurisdiction  the  equal 
protection  of  the  laws. 

Section  2.  Representatives  shall  be  apportioned  among  the 
several  States  according  to  their  respective  numbers,  counting  the 
whole  number  of  persons  in  each  State,  excluding  Indians  not 
taxed.  But  when  the  right  to  vote  at  any  election  for  the  choice 
of  electors  for  President  and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States, 
Representatives  in  Congress,  the  Executive  and  Judicial  officers 
of  a  State,  or  the  members  of  the  Legislature  thereof,  is  denied 
to  any  of  the  male  inhabitants  of  such  State,  being  twenty-one 
years  of  age,  and  citizens  of  the  United  States,  or  in  any  way 
abridged,  except  for  participation  in  rebellion,  or  other  crime, 
the  basis  of  representation  therein  shall  be  reduced  in  the  pro- 
portion which  the  number  of  such  male  citizens  shall  bear  to  the 
whole  number  of  male  citizens  twenty-one  years  of  age  in  such 
State. 

Section  3.  No  person  shall  be  a  Senator  or  Representative 
in  Congress,  or  elector  of  President  and  Vice-President,  or  hold 

1  Proclaimed  to  be  in  force  Sept.  25,  1804. 

2  Proclaimed  to  be  in  force  Dec.  18,  1865.  Bears  the  unnecessary 
approval  of  the  President.  '  • 


Appendix. 


335 


any  office,  eivil  or  military,  under  the  United  States,  or  under 
any  State,  who,  having  previously  taken  an  oath,  as  a  member 
of  Congress,  or  as  an  officer  of  the  United  States,  or  as  a  member 
of  any  State  legislature,  or  as  an  executive  or  judicial  officer  of 
any  State,  to  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
shall  have  engaged  in  insurrection  or  rebellion  against  the  same, 
or  given  aid  or  comfort  to  the  enemies  thereof.  But  Congress 
may  by  a  vote  of  tvi^o-thirds  of  each  House,  remove  such  disability. 

Section  4.  The  validity  of  the  public  debt  of  the  United 
States,  authorized  by  law,  including  debts  incurred  for  payment  of 
pensions  and  bounties  for  services  in  suppressing  insurrection  or 
rebellion,  shall  not  be  questioned.  But  neither  the  United  States 
nor  any  State  shall  assume  or  pay  any  debt  or  obligation  incurred 
in  aid  of  insurrection  or  rebellion  against  the  United  States,  or  any 
claim  for  the  loss  or  emancipation  of  any  slave  ;  but  all  such  debts, 
obligations  and  claims  shall  be  held  illegal  and  void. 

Section  5.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce,  by  ap- 
propriate legislation,  the  provisions  of  this  article.^ 

ARTICLE  XV. 

Section  i.  The  right  of  citizens  of  the  United  States  to 
vote  shall  not  be  denied  or  abridged  by  the  United  States  or  by 
any  State  on  account  of  race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of  servi- 
tude. — 

Section  2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this 
article  by  appropriate  legislation.  —  ^ 


1  Proclaimed  to  be  in  force  July  28,  1868. 

2  Proclaimed  to  be  in  force  Mar.  30,  1870. 


336 


Appendix. 


V. 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  •  NOTE. 

[For  more  extended  bibliographical  information  reference  should 
be  made  to  Winsor's  Narrative  and  Critical  History  of  America 
(8  vols.).  This  work  extends  only  to  1850  ;  Vols.  V,  VI,  VII,  and 
VIII  cover  the  period  from  1760 — 1850.  Less  extensive  works  are 
B.  A.  Hinsdale's  The  Study  of  American  History^  and  Channing 
and  Hart's  Guide  to  the  Study  of  American  History. '\ 

Comprehensive  Works.  There  is  no  good  comprehensive 
work  covering  the  period  under  review.  Gay's  Bryanfs  Popular 
History  is  the  best  book,  but  it  is  not  well  proportioned.  The 
Epochs  of  American  History,  edited  by  Albert  Bushnell  Hart, 
treat  the  period  from  a  more  constitutional  point  of  view.  These 
volumes  are  well  equipped  with  maps,  bibliographies  and  other 
"helps"  to  readers.  The  American  History  Series,  now  in  course 
of  publication,  will  ultimately  form  a  more  or  less  connected  work 
by  different  hands.  The  American  Statesmen  Series,  edited  by 
John  T.  Morse,  Jr.,  takes  the  place  to  some  extent  of  a  more 
formal  work.  But  many  of  the  volumes  are  tinged  with  the 
federalist  views  of  the  editor  and  his  collaborators.  T.  W.  Higgin- 
son's  Larger  History  of  the  United  States  is  a  readable  series  of 
essays  on  the  period  before  1830. 

Historical  Geography.  There  is  no  good  work  on  the  historical 
geography  of  America.  Winsor,  in  his  America  and  other  works, 
provides  an  abundant  supply  of  fac-similes  of  contemporary  maps. 
The  maps  in  Hart's  Epochs  of  American  History  have  been  gathered 
into  a  thin  volume,  without  text,  entitled  :  Epoch  Maps.  They  are 
suited  to  the  needs  of  the  ordinary  student,  but  are  on  a  very  small 
scale.  The  American  maps  in  Gardiner's  School  Atlas  are  poor 
and  untrustworthy. 

The  American  Revolution. 

General  Works.  Frothingham's  Rise  of  the  Republic ;  Lodge's 
Short  History  of  the  English  Colonies  (contains  also  a  useful 


Appendix. 


337 


summary  of  the  colonial  institutions)  ;  Fiske's  American  Revolu- 
tion', George  Bancroft's  United  States-,  Hildreth's  United  States; 
Pitkin's  United  States;  J.  C.  Hamilton's  Republic  of  the  United 
States;  the  "narrative"  portions  of  Winsor's  America  (Vols.  V, 
VI  and  VII)  ;  G.  W.  Greene's  Historical  View.  Among  the  more 
extended  works,  Lecky's  England  (Vols.  Ill  and  IV)  will  be  found 
most  satisfactory.  Other  British  works  are  Mahon's  England,  which 
contains  an  ultra-British  view ;  the  histories  of  Massey  (Whig) 
and  Adolphus  (Tory)  ;  Seeley's  Expansion  of  England;  Meri vale's 
Colonization ;  Lewis's  Government  of  Dependencies  (contains  an 
interesting  old-time  view)  ;  May's  Constittitional  History  of 
England;  Burke's  Europea^i  Settlements  in  America  and  his 
speeches  on  American  affairs ;  Bernard's  Letters  on  the  Trade  and 
Government  of  A^nerica. 

Special  Works.  Gordon's  Americaii  Revolution;  Graham's 
United  States ;  Ramsay's  Revolution ;  Chalmers's  Introduction  to 
the  Revolt ;  Hutchinson's  Massachusetts  (Vol.  Ill)  ;  Lossing's 
Field-Book  of  the  Revolution ;  Carrington's  Battles  of  the  Revo- 
lution; Dawson's  Battles  of  the  United  States  (Vol.  I)  ;  Beatson's 
Naval  and  Military  Memoirs  of  Great  Britain  ;  Stedman's  Ameri- 
can War ;  Moore's  Diary  of  the  Revolution ;  Jones's  New  York 
in  the  Revolutionary  War  (a  Tory  view)  ;  Galloway's  Rise  and 
Progress  of  the  Rebellion  (another  Tory  account)  ;  E.  J.  Lowell's 
The  Hessians  in  the  Revolution;  Greene's  German  Element; 
Tyler's  American  Literature  ;  Sabine's  Loyalists  ;  Ryerson's 
Loyalists. 

For  Otis's  speech  on  the  Writs  of  Assistance,  see  Quincy's 
Reports^  appendix  by  Horace  Gray;  John  Adams's  Diary  in  his 
Works,  Vol.  II.  Henry's  speech  in  the  Parson's  cause  is  best 
described  in  W.  W.  Henry's  Life  and  Speeches  of  Patrick  Henry, 
Vol.  I.  For  other  statements  of  the  American  theory  of  the 
constitution  of  the  Empire  and  for  the  American  theory  of  govern- 
ment see  Otis's  The  Rights  of  the  Colonies  asserted  and  proved 

(1764)  ;  Stephen  Hopkins's  The  Rights  of  the  Colonies  examined 

(1765)  ,  reprinted  at  London  (1766)  as  The  Grievances  of  the 
America7i  Colonies  candidly  examined;  Richard  Bland's  Enquiry 
in  the  Rights  of  the  British  Colonies  (1769)  ;  Thomas  Jefferson's 
A  Summary  View  of  the  Rights  of  British  America  (reprinted  by 

C.  A.  22 


338 


Appendix. 


Hart  and  Channing  as  American  History  Leaflet^  No.  ii).  The 
authors  of  these  essays  continually  refer  to  Lockers  Essay  on 
Government'^  Hooktr'' s  Ecclesiastical  Polity ;  Harrington's  Oceana^ 
and  Montesquieu's  L'' Esprit  des  Lois,  The  Virginia  Resolves  ( 1 769) 
and  the  Declaration  of  Independence  (1776)  are  printed  in  the 
appendix  of  the  present  volume. 

It  is  impossible  in  a  bibliographical  note  like  the  present  to 
mention  even  the  more  important  original  sources.  For  them  the 
student  should  go  to  Winsor's  Hand-Book  of  the  RevohUiofi  or 
to  one  of  the  bibliographies  mentioned  at  the  head  of  this  list. 
The  names  of  a  few  of  the  most  important  collections  may  be 
given :  Force's  Anierican  Archives ;  Niles's  Principals  and  Acts ; 
Journals  and  Secret  Journals  of  the  Continental  Congress ;  The 
Parliamentary  History ;  Cavendish's  Debates ;  Rogers's  Protests 
of  the  Lords ;  Almon's  Prior  Documents ;  and  Almon's  Pemem- 
drancer ;  Donne,  Correspondence  between  George  HI  and  Lord 
North  ;  The  Bedford  Papers. 

For  the  Diplomacy  of  the  Revolution,  see  Lyman's  and  Tres- 
cott's  works  on  the  Diplomacy  of  the  United  States  ;  Wharton's 
Digest  of  International  Law ;  Wharton's  and  Sparks's  editions  of 
the  Diplomatic  Correspondence  of  the  Revolution ;  Treaties  and 
Co7iventions  between  the  United  States  and  Other  Powers,,  and 
Davis's  "Notes"  appended  thereto.  See  also  the  biographies  of 
Franklin,  Jay,  John  Adams,  and  Silas  Deane,  noted  below. 

The  United  States,  1783 — 1865. 

Comprehensive  Works  covering  the  whole  field:  Schouler's 
United  States  (5  vols.)  ;  Goldwin  Smith's  United  States  (a  political 
study)  ;  Stanwood's  History  of  Presidential  Elections  Von  Hoist's 
Constitutional  History  of  the  United  States  (8  vols.)  ;  Wise,  Seven 
Decades;  Professor  Johnston's  articles  in  Lalor's  Cyclopcedia  of 
Political  Science. 

Special  Works  (arranged  chronologically) . 

Fiske's  Critical  Period  (1783— 1789);  G.  T.  Curtis's  Constitu- 
tional History  (1783 — 1789)  ;  Hildreth's  United  States,,  2nd  Series 
or  Vols.  IV— VI  (1783— 1 821)  ;  McMaster,  History  of  the  People 
(1783 — 1821)  ;  Tucker's  United  States  (a  Southern  view,  stops  at 


Appendix. 


339 


1840)  ;  Gibbs's  Administrations  of  Washington  and  Adams ; 
Henry  Adams's  United  States^  9  vols.  (1800 — 18 17)  ;  Benton's 
Thirty  Years'*  View  (1820 — 1850);  Rhodes's  United  States  (1850 — 
1 861)  ;  Taussig's  Tariff  History. 

Lossing's  Field-Book  of  the  War  of  181 2;  Cooper's  Naval 
History*,  James's  Naval  History;  Roosevelt's  Naval  War  of 
1812. 

J.  G.  Blaine's  Twenty  Years  in  Congress  (1840 — 1885)  ;  Jefferson 
Davis's  Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Confederate  Govern77ient ;  Goodell's 
Slavery  and  Anti-Slavery ;  Greeley's  Slavery  Extension  and 
American  Conflict-,  Olmsted's  books  on  life  in  the  South,  espe- 
cially his  Cotton  Kingdom ;  Wilson's  Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Slave 
Power-,  Dodge's  Bird's-Eye  View  of  the  Civil  War-,  Ropes's 
Story  of  the  Civil  War-,  Scribner's  series  of  Ca7npaigns  of  the 
Civil  War;  Stephens's  Constitutional  View  of  the  War  between 
the  States  (from  a  Southern  standpoint)  ;  Pollard's  Lost  Cause ; 
Eggleston's  A  RebeVs  Recollections;  and  A  Rebel  War  Clerk'* s 
Diary. 

Constitutional  Treatises.  Pomeroy's  Introduction;  Cooley's 
General  Principles ;  Story's  and  Kent's  Cojnmentaries ;  Von 
Hoist's  Constitutional  Law;  Thayer's  Cases  on  Constitutional 
Law.  In  this  connection  may  be  enumerated  de  Tocqueville's 
Democracy  in  A^nerica ;  Bryce's  Ainerican  Com^nonwealth  ;  Fiske's 
Civil  Govern77ient ;  Hart's  Federal  Government ;  Jameson's  Con- 
stitutional Conventions  ;  and  Borgeaud's  Constitutions . 

Biographies  (covering  the  whole  period,  arranged  alphabetically 
under  Americans  and  Foreigners). 

Americans  :  Adams,  John  (1735 — 1826)  :  Works  edited  with  a 
memoir  by  C.  F.  Adams.  Vol.  I  contains  the  "  Life  "  by  the  editor ; 
Vols,  n  and  HI  the  Diary  and  Autobiography.  See  also  Fa77iiliar 
Letters  of  fohn  Ada7ns  and  his  Wife,  and  a  biography  by  J.  T. 
Morse,  Jr.  Adams,  John  Quincy  (1767 — 1848)  :  Me7Jioirs  con- 
tains his  Diary,  which  is  a  most  important  document  of  its  kind. 
Biographies  by  Josiah  Quincy,  Seward,  and  Morse.  Adams, 
Samuel  (1722 — 1803)  :  Life  and  Services  by  Wm.  V.  Wells.  Also 
a  brief  biography  by  Hosmer.  Arnold,  Benedict  (1741 — 1801)  : 
by  I.  N.  Arnold.  Buchanan,  James  (1791 — 1868)  :  by  G.  T. 
Curtis.    Burr,  Aaron  (1756 — 1836)  :  by  Davis  and  by  Parton. 

22 — 2 


340 


Appendix, 


Calhoun,  John  Caldwell  (1782 — 1850)  :  Works  (6  vols.).  Biog- 
raphy by  Von  Hoist.  Cass,  Lewis  (1782 — 1866)  :  by  McLaughlin. 
Chase,  Salmon  Portland  (1808 — 1873)  •  by  Schucker.  Clay, 
Henry  (1777 — 1852)  :  Works  (6  vols.).  Biographies  by  Mallory 
and  Schurz.  Dickinson,  John  (1732 — 1808)  :  Life  and  Letters 
by  Stille.  Franklin,  Benjamin  (1706 — 1790)  :  Works  edited  by 
Sparks  and  by  Bigelow.  Bigelow's  Life  of  Franklin  written  by 
Jmnself.  Biographies  by  Parton,  McMaster,  and  Morse.  Gallatin, 
Albert  (1761 — 1849)  •  ^tf^  ^^^^  Writings  by  Henry  Adams. 
Garrison,  William  Lloyd  (1805 — 1879)  :  by  Garrison.  Gerry, 
Elbridge  (1744 — 1814)  :  by  Austin.  Grant,  Ulysses  Simpson 
(1822 — 1885)  :  Personal  Memoirs.  Greene,  Nathanael  (1742 — 
1786)  :  by  G.  W.  Greene  and  Johnson.  Hamilton,  Alexander 
(1757 — 1804)  :  Works  edited  by  J.  C.  Hamilton  and  by  Lodge. 
Biographies  by  J.  C.  Hamilton,  Morse,  Sumner,  and  Lodge. 
Henry,  Patrick  (1736 — 1799):  Life  and  Speeches  by  Wm.  W. 
Henry.  Biographies  by  Wm.  Wirt  and  by  M.  C.  Tyler.  Iredell, 
James  (1750 — 1799)  :  by  McRee.  Jackson,  Andrew  (1767 — 
1845):  by  Parton  and  Sumner.  Jay,  John  (1745— 1829)  :  by 
Wm.  Jay  and  by  Pellew.  Jefferson,  Thomas  (1743 — 1826)  : 
Writings^  edited  by  H.  A.  Washington.  A  new  edition  by  Ford 
is  in  course  of  publication.  Biographies  by  Randall,  Tucker, 
Parton,  and  Morse.  Lincoln,  Abraham  (1809 — 1865)  :  Speeches 
and  Works  by  Hay  and  Nicolay.  Biography  by  the  same  (10 
vols.),  also  by  Herndon.  Madison,  James  (1751 — 1836)  :  Papers. 
Biographies  by  Rives  and  by  Gay.  Mason,  George  (1725 — 1792)  : 
by  K.  M.  Rowland.  Monroe,  James  (1758 — 1831)  :  by  Gilman. 
Morgan,  Daniel  (1736 — 1802):  by  Graham.  Morris,  Gouver- 
neur  (1752— 1816)  :  by  Sparks  and  Tuckerman.  Morris,  Robert 
(1734 — 1806)  :  Sumner's  Financier  and  Finances  of  the  Revolution. 
Otis,  James  (1725 — 1783)  :  by  Tudor.  Pickering,  Timothy 
(1745— 1829)  :  by  Pickering  and  Upham.  Randolph,  John 
(1773— 1833)  •  by  H.  Adams.  Reed,  Joseph  (1741— 1785)  by 
Reed.  Schuyler,  Philip  (1733— 1804)  :  by  Lossing.  Seward, 
William  Henry  (1801  — 1872)  :  Works  edited  by  Baker.  Biogra- 
phies by  Lothrop  and  by  F.  W.  Seward.  Sherman,  William 
Tecumseh  (1820 — 1891)  :  Memoirs.  Sumner,  Charles  (1811— 
1874)  :  Memoir  and  Letters  by  Pierce  (4  vols.).    Van  Buren, 


Appendix. 


341 


Martin  (1782 — 1862)  :  by  Shepard.  Washington,  George 
(1732 — 1799)  :  Writings  edited  by  Sparks  and  by  Ford.  Biogra- 
phies by  John  Marshall,  Sparks,  Irving,  and  Lodge.  Wayne, 
Anthony  (1741 — 1796)  :  by  Armstrong.  Webster,  Daniel 
(1782 — 1852)  :  Works  edited  by  Everett.  Biographies  by  G.  T. 
Curtis  and  Lodge. 

Biographies  of  many  less  important  men  may  be  found  in  bio- 
graphical collections,  as  Sparks's  American  Biography . 

Foreigners  :  Andr^,  John  (1751 — 1780)  :  Biography  by  Sargent. 
For  the  circumstances  of  his  death,  see  Dawson's  Papers  concern- 
ing the  Capture  of  Andre  and  Proceedings  of  a  Board ;  Arnold's 
Arnold;  Lossing's  Two  Spies;  Greene's  Greene;  Lafayette's  Me- 
moires ;  Rush's  Washington  in  Domestic  Life.  The  question  as  to 
Andre's  status  is  discussed  on  both  sides  in  Sir  Sherstone  Baker's 
edition  of  Halleck's  International  Law.  The  best  concise  account, 
with  complete  bibliography,  is  by  Winsor  in  his  America.,  VI .  447 
and  foil.  Burgoyne,  John  (1722 — 1792)  :  by  Fonblanque.  Burke, 
Edmund  (1729 — 1797):  ^^f^r/^i"  (many  editions) .  Biographies  by 
Macknight  and  John  Morley.  Cornwallis,  Charles,  Earl  and 
Marquis  (1738 — 1805)  :  Correspondence  badly  edited  by  Ross. 
Fox,  Charles  James  (1749 — 1806)  :  Life  and  Times  and  Memo- 
rials of  by  Earl  Russell.  See  also  Trevelyan's  Early  Days  of. 
Grenville,  George  (171 2 — 1770)  :  The  Grenville  Papers.  Kalb, 
John  (1721 — 1780):  by  Kapp.  Lafayette,  Marquis  de  (1757 — 
1834)  :  Memoir es.  Biography  by  Tower  and  by  Tuckerman.  Pitt, 
William,  Earl  of  Chatham  (1708 — 1788)  :  Correspondence.  Biog- 
raphy by  Thackeray.  Pitt,  William  (1759 — 1806)  :  by  Stanhope 
and  by  Rosebery.  Riedesel,  Baroness,  Memoirs.  Rochambeau, 
Marquis  de  (1725 — 1807)  :  Memoir  es.  Rockingham,  Charles 
Watson  Wentworth,  Marquis  of  (1730 — 1782)  :  Memoirs  of  by 
Albemarle.  Shelburne,  William  Petty,  Earl  of,  later  Marquis 
of  Lansdowne  (1737 — 1805)  :  Life  of  by  Fitzmaurice.  Steuben, 
Baron  (1730 — 1794)  :  by  Kapp.  See  also  Campbell's  Lord  Chan- 
cellors and  Lord  Chief  Justices, 


INDEX. 


Adams,  Henry,  on  the  limits  of  the 
Louisiana  Purchase,  172 

Adams,  John,  43,  62;  elected  to 
Continental  Congress,  68;  advo- 
cates independence,  86 ;  draws  the 
Massachusetts  Bill  of  Rights,  85 ; 
Peace  Commissioner,  103;  Vice- 
President,  133;  President,  149; 
defeated  by  Jefferson,  155;  Ad- 
ministration of,  1 51-159;  end  of 
his  career,  158;  death  of,  159 

Adams,  John  Quincy,  and  the  Treaty 
of  Ghent,  194;  Secretary  of 
State,  negotiates  Florida  Treaty, 
199;  chosen  President,  205 ;  Ad- 
ministration of,  205-207 ;  defeated 
by  Jackson,  207;  Member  of 
House  of  Representatives,  de- 
fends the  Right  of  Petition,  236; 
states  the  effects  of  war  on  Slav- 
ery, 261-262 

Adams,  Samuel,  36;  at  the  time  of 
the  Boston  Massacre,  62;  estab- 
lishes Committees  of  Correspond- 
ence, 63;  elected  to  the  Conti- 
nental Congress,  68 

Albany  Plan  of  Union,  38 

Alexandria  Convention,  123 

Alien  and  Sedition  Acts,  152 

Amendments  to  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States,  Appendix  V, 
125;  the  First  Ten,  133;  the 
Eleventh,  125;  the  Twelfth,  157; 
the  Thirteenth,  278 

American  Ideals,  160 

Andre,  John,  Executed  as  a  spy,  95; 
Authorities  on,  341 


Andrew,  John  A.,  Opinions  of  on 
Brown's  execution,  253;  Gov- 
ernor of  Massachusetts,  prepares 
for  the  Civil  War,  264 

Annapolis  Convention,  123 

Antietam,  Battle  of,  277 

Anti-Federalists,  Oppose  Ratifica- 
tion of  the  Constitution,  132 

Anti-Masonic  Party,  218 

Anti-Slavery  Agitation,  235 

Anti-Slavery  Petition  presented  to 
Congress,  143 

Appeal  of  the  Independent  Demo- 
crats, 245 

Appomattox  Court  House,  Surren- 
der of  Lee  at,  291 

Arnold,  Benedict,  75  ;  in  Canada, 
83;  in  the  Saratoga  Campaign, 
92;  Treason  of,  95;  in  Virginia, 
100 

Articles  of  Confederation,  109,  Ap- 
pendix III;  Importance  of,  11 1; 
Analysis  of,  1 1 2 ;  Defects  of,  1 1 2, 
116,  117;  Convention  summoned 
to  amend,  123 
Ashburton  Treaty,  226 
Assistance,  Writs  of,  42,  57 
Assumption  of  State  Debts,  141 
Atlanta  Campaign,  285,  286 

Baltimore,  Population  of,  in  1800, 
161;  in  1830,  209;  in  i860,  259 

Bank,  First  United  States,  145; 
Second,  chartered,  197;  Removal 
of  the  Deposits  from,  220 

Barbe-Marbois,  Supposed  Letter 
from,  103 


Index, 


343 


Bayonne  Decree,  i8l 

Beaumarchais,  Caron  de,  94 

Bennington,  Battle  of,  91 

Benton,  Senator  from  Missouri,  239 

Berlin  Decree,  176 

Bernard,  Governor  of  Massachusetts 
and  Otis,  44 

Border  States,  The,  in  1861,  266 

Boston  Massacre,  61,  62 

Boston  Tea-Party,  65,  66 

Boston  Port  Act,  66 

Boston,  Siege  of,  71,  80;  Evacuation 
of,  83;  Population  of,  in  1800, 
161;  in  1830,  209;  in  i860,  259 

Bragg,  Confederate  General  Brax- 
ton, in  Tennessee,  279;  defeated 
at  Chattanooga,  284 

Brandywine,  Battle  of  the,  90 

Bright,  John,  on  the  Civil  War,  270 

Brock,  British  General,  189 

Brooklyn,  Population  of,  i86o,  259 

Brooks,  Preston  S.,  Assault  of,  on 
Sumner,  248 

Brown,  General  Jacob,  190 

Brown,  John,  in  Kansas,  249;  at 
Harper's  Ferry,  and  death,  253 

Brown,  Senator  from  Mississippi, 
formulates  demands  of  Slave- 
owners, 251 

Buchanan,  James,  President,  in  the 
Crisis  of  1860-61,  263,  264 

Buell,  General,  at  Shiloh,  273;  in 
Tennessee,  279 

Bull  Run,  First  Battle  of,  269;  Sec- 
ond, 276 

Bunker  Hill,  Battle  of,  81 ;  criticism 
on,  76,  77 

Burgoyne,  British  General,  75;  in"^ 
the  Saratoga  Campaign,  91 

Burnside,  General,  in  command  of 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  277 

Burr,.  Aaron,  elected  Vice-President, 
156;  kills  Hamilton,  173;  Con- 
spiracy, 173,  174;  Trial  of,  174 

Butler,  Senator  from  South  Caro- 
lina, 248,  249 

Calhoun,  John  Caldwell,  188;  and 
Jackson,    199;  Vice-President, 


204;  and  Nullification,  214-216; 

speech  on  compromise  of  1850, 

239;  death  of,  242 
California,  236,  237 
Camden,  Battle  of,  97 
Camden,  Charles  Pratt,  Lord,  ad- 
vises repeal  of  Stamp  Act,  55 
Canada,  Invasions  of,  83,  189 
Canal  building,  211 
Canning,  George,    188;    and  the 

Monroe  Doctrine,  201;  declines 

to  negotiate,  206 
Carolinas,  Population  of,  1760,  2; 

Claims  of,  to   Western  Lands, 

109 

Catholics,  The  Roman,  in  the  Colo- 
nies, 3»  4»  17 
Cessions,  The  Land,  1 1 1 
Chancellorsville,  Battle  of,  281 
Charleston,  The  tea  at,  66;  Attack 
on,  in  1776,  97;    Captured  by 
British,  97;  Convention  at,  i860, 
254;  Population  of,  in  1800,  161 
Chase,  Salmon  P.,  242,  265 
Chase,  Samuel,  Impeachment  of,  167 
Chatham-Grafton  Ministry,  56 
Chattanooga,  Battle  of,  284 
Chesapeake^  Outrage  on  the,  179; 

Capture  of  the,  193 
Chicago,  Population  of,  in  i860, 
259 

Chickamauga,  Battle  of,  283 
Church  of  England  in  the  Colonies, 
18-20 

Cincinnati,  Population  of,  in  1830, 
209;  in  i860,  259 

Circuit  Court  Judges,  126 

Civil  Service,  Jefferson  and  the, 
166;  Tenure  of  Office  Act,  204; 
J.  Q.  Adams  and  the,  206;  Jack- 
son establishes  the  Spoils  System, 
213 

Civil  War,  The,  Causes  of,  258-262; 
Expectations  of  the  Southern 
leaders,  262;  Theatre  of  opera- 
tions, 267,  271;  Consideration 
of,  292-298 

Clay,  Henry,  188;  Treaty  of  Ghent, 
195;  and  Jackson,  199;  defeated 


344 


Index. 


for  the  Presidency,  204;  secures 
J.  Q.  Adams's  election,  205 ;  and 
the  Bank  of  the  United  States, 
220;  and  Tyler,  226;  again  de- 
feated for  the  Presidency,  229, 
230;  Compromise  of  1850,  237- 
241;  Death,  242 
Clinton,  Sir  Henry,  75;  captures 

Charleston,  97 
Cochrane,  British  Admiral,  190 
Coinage,  The,  120 
Cold  Harbor,  Battle  of,  289 
Colonial  governments,  26-35 
Colonial  Policy  of  Great  Britain, 
39-41 

Colonies,  Prosperity  of  the,  73 
Commissioners  of  the  Customs  at 

Boston,  61 
Committees  of  Correspondence,  63, 

64,  66 

Compromises,  The,  of  the  Consti- 
tution, 130;  as  to  Missouri,  202; 
of  1833,  219;  of  1850,  239 

Concord,  Battle  of,  70 

Confederation,  Articles  of.  See 
Articles. 

Confederation,  Government  of,  1 1 1 ; 

Finances  of,  116;  Foreign  affairs, 

117;  Causes  of  the  Downfall  of, 

121;  Dissolution  of,  135 
Congress,  The  Stamp  Act,  53;  First 

Continental,  68;  Voting  in,  107; 

The  Second  Continental,  82;  of 

the  Confederation,  112;  of  the 

United  States,  127 
Constitution,  The,  and  the  Guerri- 

ere,  191 

Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
Appendix  IV ;  Formation  of,  1 22- 
131 

Continental  Line,  The  Soldiers  of 
the,  115 

Connecticut,  Population  of,  1760, 
2;  1775,  73;  Claims  to  Western 
Lands,  109 

Cornwallis,  Lord,  76;  in  the  South, 
97;  fortifies  Yorktown,  100;  in 
Virginia,  99-101 ;  Capture  of, 
due  to  French  assistance,  80 


Cowpens,  Battle  of  the,  98 
Crawford,  William  H.,  204 
Criminals,  Deportation  of  English, 
15 

Crown,  Relations  of  the,  to  Colo- 
nists, 28 

Davie,  Wilham  R,,  154 

Davis,  Jefferson,  Senator  from  Mis- 
sissippi, 237;  Formulates  slave- 
owners' demands,  25 1 ;  President 
of  the  Confederacy,  295 

Deane,  Silas,  94 

Dearborn,  Secretary  of  War,  166 
Declaration  of  Independence,  Ap- 
pendix II;  Adoption  of  the,  85; 
Sir  Henry  Maine's  criticism  on, 

87 

Declaratory  Act,  The,  55 
D'Estaing,  French  Admiral,  100 
De  Grasse  and  the  Capture  of  Corn- 
wallis, 1 01 
Democratic  Party,  Origin  of  the, 

213;  Disruption  of,  254 
Deposits  of  Public  Money  with  the 

States,  222 
Dickinson,  John,  86 
Dodge,  Col.,  on  the  Civil  War,  298 
Domain,  The  National,  109,  113 
Donelson,  Capture  of  Fort,  271 
Douglas,    Stephen    A.,    and  the 
Kansas-Nebraska  Bill,  243-246; 
Debate  with  Lincoln,  250;  De- 
clares for  the  Union,  266 
Dred  Scott  Decision,  251 
Dutch  Immigration,  3 
Dwight,  President  of  Yale  College, 
on  the  Jefifersonian  Republicans, 
166 

East  Florida,  Jackson's  Invasion  of. 

Education  in  the  Colonies,  22-24 
Elections,  Presidential,  of  1788, 133; 
of  1792,  147;  of  1796,  149;  of 
1800, 155;  of  1824,  204;  of  1828, 
207;  of  1840,225;  of  1844,229; 
of  1852,  242J  of  i860,  254;  of 
1864,  291 


Index. 


345 


Ellsworth,  Oliver,  Chief  Justice  of 
the  United  States,  154;  Com- 
missioner to  France,  154;  Re- 
signs, 158 

Emancipation  Proclamation,  277 

Embargo,  The,  180-183 

"  Era  of  Good  Feeling,"  197 

Ericsson,  John,  275 

Erie  Canal,  211 

Erskine,  British  Minister,  184 

Essex,  Case  of  the,  175 

Excise,  The,  144 

Farragut,  Admiral,  takes  New  Or- 
leans, 272 

Federal  Convention,  Summoned, 
123;  Powers  of,  131;  Members 
of,  124;  Madison's  Notes  of  De- 
bates of  125 

Federal  Courts,  126,  139 

Federalists,  The,  favour  adoption 
of  Constitution,  132 

Federalist  Party,  Cause  of  Defeat 
of,  160 

Fillmore,  Millard,  President,  240; 
Defeated  for  re-nomination,  242 

Florida  Treaty,  200 

Feeder alist^  The,  132 

Fox,  Charles  James,  Dislikes  Shel- 
burne,  102 

France,  Relations  of  United  States 
with,  in  1776-78,  94;  in  1794- 
1800,151-155;  in  1806-10,  176- 
185;  in  1829-35,  221 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  21 ;  Albany 
Plan  of  Union,  39;  on  the  Stamp 
Act,  54;  in  Continental  Congress, 
86;  in  France,  94;  Commissioner 
to  negotiate  Treaty  of  1783,  102; 
in  Federal  Convention,  124;  Pres- 
ident of  Abolition  Society,  143 

Fredericksburg,  Battle  of,  277 

Freeman's  Farm,  Battle  of,  93 

Free-Willers,  16 

French  Alliance,  The,  94;  Results 
of,  100 

French  Revolution,  Influence  of,  on 

American  Politics,  147 
French  spoliation  claims,  155 


Fugitive  Slave  Act,  241 

Gage,  General,  his  policy,  1774-75, 
69,  76;  at  Bunker  Hill,  81 

Gallatin,  Albert,  5;  opposes  Alien 
Act,  153;  Secretary  of  the  Treas- 
ury, 166;  and  the  Smiths,  186; 
one  of  the  negotiators  of  the 
Treaty  of  Ghent,  194;  Minister 
to  England,  206 

Garrison,  William  Lloyd,  235,  236, 
256 

Gaspee^  Destruction  of  the,  64 
Gaspee  Commission  of  Inquiry,  64 
Gates,  General  Horatio,  75 ;  at  Sara- 
toga, 93;  at  Camden,  97 
Genet,  French  Minister,  147 
Georgia,  Population  of,  3;  claims 

to  Western  Lands,  109 
George  III,  and  the  Tea  Duty,  60 
Germaine,  Lord  George,  76 
German  Immigrants,  2,  3 
Germantown,  Battle  of,  91 
Gerry,  Elbridge,  Commissioner  to 
France,  151;  on  Nationality,  259 
Gerrymander,  The,  186 
Gettysburg,  Battle  of,  282 
Ghent,  Treaty  of,  194 
Gladstone,  W.  E.,  on  the  Civil  War, 

270;  on  the  Constitution,  125 
Goodrich,  Removal  of,  166 
Governments,  Colonial,  26-34 
Grant,  Ulysses  S.,  Early  career,  267; 
captures  Forts  Henry  and  Donel- 
son,  271;  at  Shiloh,  273;  captures 
Vicksburg,  280;  at  Chattanooga, 
284;  in  command  of  all  the  Union 
armies,  285;  in  the  Wilderness 
Campaign,  289;    captures  Lee's 
Army,  292 
Great  Britain,  Treaty  of  1783  with, 
104;    Relations   with,  1783-89, 
117,  118;  Jay's  Treaty  with,  148; 
Relations  with,  1 783- 1804,  174; 
1806-1812,    177-181,  184-188; 
War  of  1 81 2,  188-196;  Treaties 
of  1815    and   1818   with,  198; 
1829-36,  206,   221;  Ashburton 
Treaty,  226;  Oregon  Treaty,  232- 


346 


Index, 


234;    attitude  during  the  Civil 

War,  269 
Greene,  General    Nathanael,  74; 

Presides  at  Andre  Trial,  96;  in 

the  South,  98 
Grenville,   George,  35;    and  the 

Stamp  Act,  48,  55 
Guerriere  and  Constitution,  191 
Guadalupe  Hidalgo,  Treaty  of,  231 
Guilford  Court  House,  Battle  of,  99 

Halifax  Plan  of  Union,  39 

Halleck,  General,  273;  his  Inter- 
national Law,  96 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  Principal  au- 
thor of  the  Feeder  alist,  132; 
Intrigues  against  John  Adams, 
133,  150,  155;  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  137;  Political  Opinions, 
137,  138;  Restores  credit,  140- 
143;  the  Bank  of  the  United 
States,  145;  Opposed  to  French 
ideas,  147;  in  command  of  the 
Army,  152;  Letter  to  Dayton, 
154;  Death,  173 

Hancock,  John,  36 

Harrison,  William  Henry,  at  Tippe- 
canoe, 188;  Elected  President, 
225;  Death,  225 

Hartford  Convention,  195 

Hayne  on  Nullification,  215 

Helper's  Impending  Crisis,  1^2. 

Henry,  Patrick,  The  Parson's  Cause, 
46;  Resolutions  condemning  the 
Stamp  Act,  50;  Committees  of 
Correspondence,  64;  a  National- 
ist, 107;  Opposes  ratification 
of  Constitution,  132;  appointed 
Commissioner  to  France,  154 

Hessians,  87 

Hood,  Confederate  General,  286, 
288 

Hooker,  General  Joseph,  in  com- 
mand of  Army  of  Potomac,  277; 
at  Chancellorsville,  28I;  Lookout 
Mountain,  284 

Hooker,  Richard,  his  Ecclesiastical 
Polity,  Influence  of,  87 

Hopkins,  Stephen,  64 


Houston,  Samuel,  229 

Howe,  British  General,  75,  76;  at 
Bunker  Hill,  81 ;  in  Campaign  of 
1776,  89 

Huguenots  in  the  Colonies,  2,  3 

Hutchinson,  Thomas,  Writs  of  As- 
sistance, 42;  the  Boston  Mas- 
sacre, 62;  reopens  the  contest,  63 

Impeachment  of  Justices  of  the 

Supreme  Court,  126 
Impressment  controversy,  178 
Independence,  Declaration  of,  86; 

Appendix  II;  Growth  of  the  idea 

of,  83 
Indented  Servants,  15 
Inter-colonial  communication,  24 
Inter-state  conflicts,  1783-88,  121 

Jackson,  Andrew,  defends  New 
Orleans,  191 ;  Invades  Florida, 
199;  Defeated  for  the  Presi- 
dency, 205;  Elected  President, 
207,  208;  and  NuUification,  216- 
219;  Re-elected  President,  218; 
Removal  of  the  Deposits,  220; 
Censured  by  the  Senate,  221 ; 
The  Specie  Circular,  223;  and 
the  Annexation  of  Texas,  229 

Jackson,  British  Minister  to  the 
United  States,  184 

Jackson,  Confederate  General,  in  the 
Shenandoah  Valley,  274;  killed 
at  Chancellorsville,  282;  as  a 
soldier,  297 

Jay,  John,  one  of  the  negotiators  of 
the  Treaty  of  1783,  103;  writes 
part  of  the  Feeder alist,  132;  Chief 
Justice,  136;  Negotiates  Treaty  of 
1794,  148 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  his  Summary 
View,  27,  67;  Committees  of 
Correspondence,  64;  in  Second 
Continental  Congress,  82;  the 
Virginia  Constitution,  85 ;  Writes 
Declaration  of  Independence,  86 ; 
Report  on  a  Monetary  System, 
120;  and  Alexandria  Convention, 
123;  Minister  to  France,  136; 


Index. 


347 


Secretary  of  State  and  political 
opinions,  136,  138;  Aids  Hamil- 
ton, 143;  Opposes  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Bank,  145;  as  a 
Party  Leader,  146;  Sympathy 
with  the  French,  147;  and  the 
Kentucky  Resolutions,  153; 
Elected  President,  156;  Favours 
Emancipation  of  the  Slaves,  163; 
Administrations  of,  165-183; 
Inaugural  Address,  165;  and  the 
Civil  Service,  166-168;  and  the 
Louisiana  Purchase,  169-172;  his 
Embargo  Policy,  180-182 

Jews,  in  the  Colonies,  2,  4 

Johnston,  Albert  S.,  Confederate 
General,  273,  298 

Johnston,  J.  E.,  Confederate  Gen- 
eral, 274,  298;  in  Vicksburg 
Campaign,  281;  opposes  Sher- 
man, 285-288 

Judiciary  Act  of  1801,  157 

Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court,  126 

Kansas,  The  Struggle  for,  247-250 
Kansas-Nebraska  Bill,  243-246 
Kentucky,  Settlers  in,  118;  a  Slave 

State,  144 
Kentucky  Resolutions,  The,  153 
King's  Mountain,  Battle  of,  98 
Know -Nothing  Party,  247 

Lafayette,  Marquis  de,  75;  in  Vir- 
ginia, 100 
Land  Claims  and  Cessions,  109-111 
Land  System,  16 
Lawrence,  Abbot,  247 
Lecompton  Convention,  249 
Lee,  Charles,  75;    at  Monmouth, 
95 

Lee,  Richard  Henry,  moves  Reso- 
lution for  Independence,  85; 
Opposes  Ratification  of  the  Con- 
stitution, 132 

Lee,  R.  E.,  Confederate  General, 
276;  atChancellorsville,  281,  282; 
the  Wilderness  Campaign,  289; 
Surrenders,  292;  as  a  soldier, 
297 


Legal  Profession,  Rise  of  the,  21 
Leopard  and  Chesapeake^  179 
Lexington,  Skirmish  at,  70 
Liberty,  Seizure  of  the  Sloop,  61 
Lincoln,    Levi,  Attorney-General, 
166 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  attacks  Kansas- 
Nebraska  Act,  246;  Debate  with 
Douglas,  250;  on  John  Brown's 
Raid,  253;  Elected  President, 
256;  his  Position  in  1861,  261- 
265;  First  Inaugural  Address, 
264;  Emancipation  Proclamation, 
277;  Re-elected  President,  291 ; 
Murdered,  292 

LAttle  Belt,  The,  and  the  President^ 

187 

Liverpool,  Lord,  on  the  Americans, 
189 

Livingston,  Minister  to  France,  ne- 
gotiates Louisiana  Treaty,  171 
Local  government  in  the  Colonies, 

37, 38 

Locke,  John,  Influence  of  his  Essay 

on  Government,  45,  87 
Lodge,  H.  C,  on  the  composition 

of  the  population,  i ;  on  Webster's 

Theory  of  Nationality,  259 
Longfellow,  H.  W.,  on  Brown's 

Execution,  253 
Louisiana  Purchase,  The,  169-172 
Loyalists,  The,  92,  97;  Treaty  of 

1783,  as  to,  104,  117 
Lundy's  Lane,  Battle  of,  190 
Lyon,  General,  267 

McClellan,  General  G.  B.,  269;  in 
the  Peninsular  Campaign,  274- 
276;  at  Antietam,  277;  Defeated 
for  the  Presidency,  291 

McDonougli,  Commodore,  190 

McDowell,  General,  269 

•Macon's  Bill,  No.  2,  185 

Madison,  James,  and  the  Alexandria 
Convention,  123;  "Notes  of  the 
Debates "  of  the  Federal  Con- 
vention, 125;  one  of  the  authors 
of  the  Foederalist,  132;  in  House 
of  Representatives,  136-141;  and 


348 


Index, 


a  National  Bank,  146;  author  of 
the  Virginia  Resolutions,  153; 
Secretary  of  State,  166;  Adminis- 
trations of,  184-197 

Maine,  Sir  Henry,  on  American 
Political  Ideas,  87 

Manufacturing,  Restrictions  on  Co- 
lonial, 32 

Marbois,  Barbe-,  Letter  from,  103 

"March  to  the  Sea,"  The,  287, 
288 

Marshall,  John,  Commissioner  to 
France,  151 ;  Secretary  of  State, 
154;  Chief  Justice,  158,  167, 
174 

Maryland,  Roman  Catholics  in,  17; 
Education  in,  23;  and  the  Articles 
of  Confederation,  ill;  and  Vir- 
ginia, 122 
Mason  and  Dixon's  Line,  4,  162 
Mason,  George,  59;  and  the  Vir- 
ginia Bill  of  Rights,  84 
Massachusetts,  Population  of,  1760, 
2;  in  1775,  36;  in   1810,  195; 
Government    of,    36;  Circular 
Letter,  The,  58;  Charter  of,  sus- 
pended, 66;  Provincial  Congress, 
69;    Claim  to  Western  Lands, 
109;  and  the  War  of  181 2,  195 
Massacre,  The  Boston,  61 
Meade,  General  G.  G.,  282 
Medical  Profession,  Rise  of  the,  21 
Mexican  War,  The,  230-232 
Middle   States,  Population   of,  in 

1800,  162 
Midnight  Appointments,  The,  158 
Milan  Decree,  177 
Mill  Spring,  Battle  of,  271 
Mississippi,  Navigation  of  the,  118 
Missouri  Compromises,  The,  202, 
228,  230,  235;  Repeal  of,  244; 
Constitutionality  of,  251 
Monitor  and  Merrimac^  274 
Monmouth,  Battle  of,  95 
Monroe,  James,  Minister  to  France, 
151  :  and  the  Louisiana  Treaty, 
171;    Secretary  of   State,  186; 
Administrations  of,  197-204 
Monroe  Doctrine,  The,  200 


Montesquieu,  Influence  of,  on  Amer- 
ica, 87 

Montgomery,  General,  83 

Morgan,  General  Daniel,  77;  in  the 
Saratoga  Campaign,  93;  at  the 
Cowpens,  98 

Morris,  Gouverneur,  Plan  for  a 
Monetary  System,  120;  in  the 
Constitutional  Convention,  125 

Murfreesboro',  Battle  of,  279 

Napoleon,  and  the  Treaty  of  1800, 

155;  and  Louisiana,  170,  171; 

and  the  Neutrals,  176-185 
National  Capital,  Controversy  as  to 

site  of,  142 
National  Debt,  in  1783,  116;  in 

1789,  140;    Hamilton's  Policy, 

141;  in  1800,  168;  Jefferson  and 

Gallatin's  PoUcy,  168;  Paid  off 

in  1835,  222 
National  Domain,  Origin  of  the, 

109;  Administration  of  the,  113 
Naturalization,  before  1775,  20 
Navigation  Acts,  31;  Evasions  of 

the,  41;  Enforcement  of  the,  48 
Navy,  Jefferson's  jealousy  of  the, 

168 

Neutrality,  Proclamation  of  1794, 
147 

Newburg  Addresses,  116 

New  England,  Population  of,  in 
1760,  I;  in  1800,  162;  Education 
in,  23;  Town  system  of,  37;  Di- 
minished Importance  in  1830, 
211 

New  Hampshire,  First  Constitution 
of,  84 

New  Jersey,  Education  in,  23;  and 
New  York,  121 ;  Slavery  in,  163 

New  Orleans,  Battle  of,  181 5,  191 ; 
Population  of,  in  1830,  209;  in 
i860,  258;  Captured,  1862,  272 

New  York,  Colony  and  State  of, 
Population,  1760,  3;  Roman 
CathoUcs  in,  17;  Education  in, 
23 ;  Claims  to  Western  Lands, 
1 10;  and  New  Jersey,  121 

New  York,  City  of,  Population  in 


Index. 


349 


1800,  161;  in  1830,  209;  in  i860, 
259 

Non-Importation  Agreements,  59 
Non-Importation  Act  of  1804,  175 
North,  Lord,  Opposes  Repeal  of  Tea 

Duty,  60;  Conciliatory  Proposals 

of,  95 

North  Carolina,  Education  in,  24; 

Cedes  Western  Lands,  144 
North,  The,  Condition  of,  i860,  259 
Nullification,  Theory  of,  153;  Epi- 
sode, 214,  217-219 

Ohio  Valley,  Settlements  in,  1800, 

163 

Olive  Branch  Petition,  82 
Orders  in  Council,  1807,  177 
Ordinance  of  1784,  113;   of  1787, 

113-115 
Oregon  Treaty,  232-234 
Oriskany,  Battle  of,  92 
Otis,  James,  and  Writs  of  Assist- 
ance, 42;  Political  Essays,  43-45 ; 
and  the  Stamp  Act  Congress,  52 

Paine,  Thomas,  his  Common  Sense, 

85 

Pakenham,  British  General,  191 
Panama  Congress,  206 
Paper  Money,  1784-87,  119 
Parliament  of  Great  Britain  and  the 

Colonies,  28,  33 
Particularism,  Growth  of,  107 
Pemberton,   Confederate  General, 

280,  281 
Peninsular  Campaign,  274-276 
Pennsylvania,    Population    of,  in 

1760,  3;   in  1775,  73;   in  1800, 

162;    Roman  Catholics  in,  17; 

Education  in,  23 
Perry,  Commodore,  189 
Perryville,  Battle  of,  279 
Philadelphia,  Tea  at,  66;  Captured 

by  British,  90;    Population  in 

1800,  161;  in  1830,209;  in  i860, 

259 

Phillips,  Wendell,  236,  256 
Pickett,  Confederate  General,  283 
Pierce,  Franklin,  President,  243 


Pinckney,  General,  Commissioner  to 

France,  151 
Pitt,  William,  Earl  of  Chatham,  and 

the  Stamp  Act,  55  ;  Ministry  of, 

56 

Pitt,  William,  Enforces  Rule  of 
War  of  1756,"  175 

Plans  of  Union,  38 

Political  Ideas,  American,  43-46 

Political  Parties,  1787-88,  132;  For- 
mation of,  1790-92,  146,  149 

Polk,  J.  K.,  President,  229,  230; 
Administration  of,  230-234 

Polly y  The,  Case  of,  174 

Pontiac,  Conspiracy  of,  47 

Pope,  General,  271,  273;  in  Vir- 
ginia, 276 

Population  of  United  States,  Statis- 
tics and  Distribution  of,  in  1760, 
1-4;  in  1775,  72;  in  1800,  161 ; 
in  1830,  208;  in  1840,  209;  in 
i860,  263 

Po^  Office,  The  Colonial,  25 

Potomac,  Navigation  of  the,  123 

Prescott,  Colonel,  73,  81 

President  of  the  United  States, 
Tenure  of  Office,  127;  Powers 
of,  129;  Mode  of  Election  of, 
I33»  157;  Salary  of,  139;  Title 
of,  140 

President y  The,  and  Little  Belt,  187 

Prevost,  British  General,  190 

Princeton,  Battle  of,  90 

Privateers,  American,  in  Revolu- 
tionary War,  106;  in  War  of  181 2, 
193 

Privy  Council  and  the  Colonies,  33, 
35 

Proclamation  of  1763,  27,  104,  no 
Protestant  Dissenters  in  the  Colo- 
nies, 18 

Province,  a  Royal,  Government  of, 
34 

Quebec  Act,  66 

Railways,  212 
Rambouillet  Decree,  181 
Rawdon,  Lord,  97 


350 


Index. 


Redemptioners,  1 5 
Religion,  in  the  Colonies,  16 
Representative  Government,  29 
Representatives,  Members  of  the 
House  of,  Tenure  of  Office,  127; 
Salary  of,  140 
Republican  Party,  formed  by  Jeffer- 
son, 149;  The  later,  255;  Posi- 
tion of,  as  to  Slavery,  256 
Revolution,  Causes  of,  29-31 
Revolutionary  Governments,  84 
Revolutionary  War,  Theatre  of,  77; 
British  Strategy  in,  76,  78;  Char- 
acter of,  79;    French  Aid,  79; 
Campaigns  of,  89-102;  Effects  of, 
105 

Rhodes,  James  Ford,  on  the  Kansas- 
Nebraska  Act,  245;  on  Helper's 
Book,  252 

Rhode  Island,  Population,  2;  Ro- 
man Catholics  in,  17;  Education 
in,  23;  Government  of,  35,  84; 
Paper  Money  in,  119  • 

Riedesel,  Baroness,  her  Journal^  89 

Right  of  Deposit,  171 

Rittenhouse,  David,  21 

Rochambeau,  Marquis  de,  lOO 

Rockingham  Ministries,  The  First, 
54;  The  Second,  102 

Rodney,  Admiral,  on  Clinton,  76; 
does  not  follow  De  Grasse,  loi 

Roman  Catholics  in  the  Colonies, 
17 

Rosecrans,  General,  279,  283 
Ross,  British  General,  190 
Russia  and  the  War  of  181 2,  194 

St.  Leger's  Campaign,  92 

St.  Louis,  Population  in  i860,  259 

Salaries  of  the  principal  Federal 

Officers,  139,  140 
Saratoga,  Convention  of,  93 
vScotch-Irish  Immigrants,  2 
Scots,  in  the  Colonies,  2,  3 
Scott,  Sir  William,  174,  175 
Scott,  General  Winfield,  in  War  of 

181 2,  190;  in  Mexican  War,  231 ; 

Defeated  for  the  Presidency,  243 
Sedition  Act,  152 


Senators,  United  States,  127,  140 

Servants  in  the  Colonies,  15 

Seward,  WilUam  H.,  219,  237;  on 
the  Compromise  of  1850,  240, 
242;  on  Kansas-Nebraska  Act, 
244;  on  Slavery,  251;  Secretary 
of  State,  265;  and  the  Trent 
Case,  270 

Shannon^  The,  captures  the  Chesa- 
peake^ 193 

Shays's  Rebellion,  122 

Shelburne,  in  the  Second  Rocking- 
ham Ministry,  102;  begins  Nego- 
tiations for  Peace,  102;  Prime 
Minister,  102 

Sheridan,  General,  at  Murfreesboro', 
279;  at  Chattanooga,  284;  in  the 
Shenandoah  Valley,  290;  in  the 
last  Campaign,  291 

Sherman,  General,  in  the  Vicksburg 
Campaign,  280,  281  ;  at  Chatta- 
nooga, 284;  in  the  Atlanta  Cam- 
paign, 285,  286;  the  "March  to 
the  Sea,"  287,  288 

Shiloh,  Battle  of,  272 

Shirley,  Governor  of  Massachusetts, 
42 

Slaves,  in  the  Colonies,  12-14,  72, 
73;  in  1800,  162;  in  1830,  209; 
in  i860,  263;  Number  of  Slave- 
holders in  i860,  263;  Emancipa- 
tion of,  in  the  North,  113,  114, 
163;  First  Debates  in  Congress 
as  to,  143, 144;  Extension  of  Slave 
Territory,  228  and  foil.;  Emanci- 
pation of,  in  the  United  States, 
277,  278 

Smith,  Goldwin,  on  the  Civil  War, 
270 

Smith,  Robert,  in  Madison's  Cabi- 
net, 186 

South,  The,  Population  in  1800, 
162;  Condition  of,  in  i860,  258 

South  Carolina,  Population  of,  in 
1775,  73;  Education  in,  24; 
Local  Government  in,  38;  Nulli- 
fication in,  217;  Secession  of, 
256 

Spain,   Relations    with,  1783-89, 


Index. 


351 


118;  cedes  Louisiana  to  France, 
.170;  withdraws  Right  of  Deposit, 
171;  cedes  Florida,  199,  200 
Specie  Circular,  The,  223 
Spoils  system,  166-168,  204,  213 
Spottsylvania,  Battle  of,  289 
*'  Squatter  Sovereignty,"  245 
Stamp  Act,  Reasons  for,  47,  49;  in 
the  Colonies,  50-54;  Repealed, 
55 

Stamp  Act  Congress,  52,  53 
Stanton,  Secretary  of  War,  265 
State  Constitutions,  Early,  84,  108 

States-Rights,"  214 
Steamboats,  212 
Stephen,  Sir  James,  175 
Steuben,  Baron,  75 
Stone  River,  Battle  of,  279 
Stony  Point,  Assault  on,  95 
Stowe,  Mrs.,  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin, 
242 

Sumner,  Charles,  on  Fugitive  Slave 
Act,  241 ;  Senator  from  Massa- 
chusetts, 242;  on  the  Kansas- 
Nebraska  Act,  244;  The  Crime 
against  Kansas,  248;  Assault  on, 
248 

Sumter,  Fort,  Attack  on,  265 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States, 
126,  127,  139 

Talleyrand  and  the  "X  Y  Z  Affair," 
151;  and  Louisiana,  1 70 

Taney,  Roger  B.,  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  removes  Deposits,  220; 
gives  the  Decision  in  the  Dred 
Scott  Case,  251 

Tariff  Acts,  of  1790,  139;  of  Abom- 
inations, 213;  of  1833,  219;  of 
1842,  226 

Tarleton,  British  General,  77,  97; 
at  the  Cowpens,  98 

Taylor,  Zachary,  in  the  Mexican 
War,  230,  231;  President,  237; 
Death,  240 

Tea  Duty,  65 

Tecumseh,  187 

Tennessee,  Settlers  in,  118 

Territorial  Acquisitions,  The  Louisi- 


ana Purchase,  169;  Florida,  199; 
Texas,  229;    Mexican  Cessions, 
232;  Oregon,  232-234 
Texas,  229 

^Thomas,  General  G.  H.,  at  Battle 
of  Mill  Spring,  271;  at  Murfrees- 
boro',  279;  at  Chickamauga,  283; 
at  Chattanooga,  284;  wins  Battle 
of  Nashville,  287 

Tippecanoe,  Battle  of,  187 

Townshend  Acts,  56 

Treaties,  AUiance  with  France,  94; 
of  Paris,  104;  Jay's  Treaty,  148; 
of  1800  with  France,  155;  Louisi- 
ana Purchase,  171 ;  of  Ghent, 
194;  of  181 8  with  Great  Britain, 
198;  Ashburton  Treaty,  226;  of 
Guadalupe  Hidalgo,  231 ;  Oregon, 
232 

Trent  Case,  The,  269 

Trenton,  Battle  of,  90 

Trevett  vs.  Weeden,  Case  of,  119 

Tripolitan  War,  169 

Turner,  Nat,  Insurrection,  236 

Tyler,  John,  Vice-President,  225; 

President,  226;  Administration 

of,  226-230 

Union,  Form  of,  under  Articles  of 
Confederation,  1 1 1 ;  Plans  of,  38 

Union  States,  Population  of  the, 
263 

United  States,  Boundaries  of,  in 
1783,  104;  Disputes  as  to,  118, 
198,  199,  226,  229,  233;  Stability 
of  Government  of,  under  the  Con- 
stitution, 127,  128;  Area  of,  1783 
and  1800,  161;  in  1830,  209.  See 
also  Population 

Valley  Forge,  91 

Van  Buren,  Martin,  207;  Secretary 
of  State,  221;  Vice-President, 
218;  President,  223;  Adminis- 
tration of,  223-225 ;  Defeated  for 
re-election,  225;  Declines  over- 
tures of  Texas,  229 

Vans  Murray,  Commissioner  to 
France,  154 


352 


Index, 


Veto  Power,  Exercised  by  King  of 

Great  Britain,  33 
Vicksburg  Campaign,  280,  281 
Virginia,  Population  of,  in  1760,  i, 
2;  in  1775,  72;  in  1800,  162; 
Social  Conditions  in,  10;  Religion 
in,  17,  18;  Education  in,  23; 
Local  Government  in,  38;  First 
Constitution  of,  84;  Topography 
of,  77,  267;  Loss  of  Prestige  of, 
2IO;  Claims  to  Western  Lands, 
109,  no;  in  the  War  of  181 2, 
195 

Virginia  Resolves  of  1769,  59  and 

Appendix  I 
Virginia  Resolutions  of  1798,  153 
Virtual  Representation,  30 
Volunteers,  The  Northern,  266 

Wade,  B.  F.,  242 

Walpole,  Sir  Robert,  and  the  Colo- 
nies, 40 

War  of  1812,  188-196 

Washington  City,  Burning  of,  190 

Washington,  George,  59,  73,  74; 
Commander-in-Chief,  82  ;  and 
Independence,  83;  Campaign  of 


1776,  89;  at  Trenton  and  Prince- 
ton, 90;  Campaign  of  1777,  90; 
at  Monmouth,  95 ;  at  Yorktown, 
100;  The  Newburgh  Addresses, 
115;  in  the  Federal  Convention, 
124;  President,  134;  Adminis- 
trations of,  135-150;  Farewell 
Address,  150;  Appointed  Gen- 
eral, 1798,  152;  Favours  Eman- 
cipation of  Slaves,  163 

Wasp  and  Frolic^  192 

Wayne,  General  Anthony,  74;  at 
Stony  Point,  95 

Webster,  Daniel,  and  Hayne,  215; 
Secretary  of  State,  negotiates 
Ashburton  Treaty,  226;  "Sev- 
enth of  March  Speech,"  240; 
Death,  242 

West  Florida,  Seizure  of,  185 

Wilderness  Campaign,  289-290 

Wilmot  Proviso,  238,  240 

Writs  of  Assistance,  42,  57 

Yorktown,  Capture  of,  loo;  Respon- 
sibility for  British  Disaster,  76 

«XYZ  Affair,''  151 


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